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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23662627">The Best Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Worlds/pseuds/Secret_Worlds'>Secret_Worlds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Ending, Car Accidents, Character Death, Coma, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Marriage, Mild Language, Military Families, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:48:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>74,627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23662627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Worlds/pseuds/Secret_Worlds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story of how an unrequited crush turns into two ordinary people falling in love.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Colton Barton/Hannah Brooks, Viola Moretti/James O'Connor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. New Neighbors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story will include 76,845 words. It is long and includes an alternate ending.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>What was that noise? I thought and I put down my Barbie to peek out the window. In the Johnson's driveway was a huge truck I didn't recognize. It had a word on the side I couldn't read yet. My teacher said I was getting there, though. I knew the entire alphabet song!<br/>Two grown-ups got out of the truck and went around the back to open it up. Together they started carrying a couch out. They paused when another car pulled into the driveway behind them. What was going on? Did the Johnsons know that they were there?<br/>"Mommy?" I called out, giving the window one last glance before running into the living room, where Mommy was scowling down at the knitting project she was trying to make. She looked up when I entered the room.<br/>"What, baby?" she asked, seeming relieved to not have to focus on the yarn anymore.<br/>"People are breaking into the Johnson's house!" I exclaimed quickly. We had to stop them. Daddy would want them to be stopped because that was bad and he didn't like bad people. That's why he left. Because he had to go and fight the bad people.<br/>"What are you talking about?" she looked at me funny, like she thought I was fibbing. I was too worried to be mad at her for that. I wasn’t a fibber.<br/>"The people out there are breaking into the neighbor's house!" I repeated quickly, pointing back towards the front room. She moved to stand and I led her to the window, expecting her to be as scared as me. But she laughed before bending down to my level.<br/>"No, honey. The Johnson's moved away. These are the people that are moving in. They're our new neighbors. You see how they're moving their stuff inside?" she asked, directing my attention back out the window, where there were now two boys and their mommy and daddy.<br/>I couldn't move my gaze away from the boys. Did this mean I had someone to play with? The Johnsons had been my grandma’s age so they were boring. One of the boys looked like a big kid, so he probably wouldn't wanna play with a kindergartner like me. But the other one looked like he could be in kindergarten too!<br/>"Do you wanna go outside and say hi?" Mommy asked, like she read my mind. She did that sometimes, and I figured it was just a thing mommies could do. I nodded and she held my hand, walking me outside until we were in the driveway with them.<br/>"Hello, you must be the new neighbors," Mommy said, catching the attention of the grownups, but the boys kept talking to each other. I wonder what they were saying?<br/>"My name is Amy and this is my daughter, Viola," she continued, gesturing first to herself and then to me. "Can you say 'hi', honey?" she asked me, giving my hand a slight squeeze.<br/>All the adults were looking at me and it was kind of scary, but then I thought of Daddy. He was so brave. I could be brave like him.<br/>"Hi," I said quietly, pressing a little closer to Mommy. She squeezed my hand again(a silent ‘good job’) before she kept talking.<br/>"We saw that you were moving in and we just wanted to come over to say hi and welcome you to the neighborhood!" she explained without seeming scared at all. Were all Mommies brave enough to talk to grown ups without being scared?<br/>As if answering my question, the other Mommy started talking, "Thank you! My name is Nancy Barton and this is my husband, Bryan," she gestured to the man and he smiled, "And these are our sons, Josh and Colton," she continued, pointing at the older one then the younger one.<br/>Josh and Colton looked up when they heard their names being called. They looked at Mommy first, before looking at me. I gave a slight smile and a halfhearted wave. The older one looked up at his mom, but the younger one smiled back at me.<br/>Yep. We were definitely going to be friends.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The New Guy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola meets James, who happens to be staying with his cousin right next door.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Throwing my backpack in the passenger seat, I ducked my head down and slid into my old rust-bucket of a car. That was okay, though. She was my baby. As I started the car and drove out of the school parking lot, I breathed a sigh of relief. My last day of high school was over. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops.<br/>Instead, I turned my Arctic Monkeys CD on high and sang along. It was nice to be able to do this alone because I knew Ally and Colton would never understand my love of rock music. I'd played Metallica once and the expressions they gave me had me lying and saying I'd accidentally pressed the wrong station.<br/>Now I let it all out, challenging the band as to who could sing louder. Before I even turned into my neighborhood I turned it off. Colton lived right next door and the music was so loud you could probably hear it all the way down the street.<br/>I switched it to Pop 2K, my second favorite station, and lowered the volume. I was singing the end of Teardrops On My Guitar when I pulled into my driveway. I turned the car off and got out, bringing the bag of unnecessary books with me.<br/>"Hey neighbor," I heard and turned around to that familiar face. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and an athletic body. Colton Barton. My best friend. My secret crush. Well, almost secret. Ally had guessed correctly last year so she knew. I'd sworn her to secrecy with the threat of violence. I was tiny but vicious.<br/>"How'd you get home so early? I thought you were driving Hannah home today?" I asked. He talked about her so much I’d stopped grimacing whenever I said her name. Didn't stop me from wanting to hate her, though.<br/>"Nah, she got a ride with Natalie. Wanted to talk about something or another. They both went over to her house," he jerked his thumb in the opposite direction, "But that’s fine with me. She's finally talking Natalie's ear off instead of mine."<br/>I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I tell you what, if you aren't the number one boyfriend, I don't know who is," I said sarcastically. I wish he could be my number one boyfriend.<br/>No. I couldn't think like that. He's my best friend. Every time I thought of how much I wanted to be with him, I'd forget that.<br/>"I try," he responded with a wink, and I had to remind myself he was just naturally flirtatious. It wasn't because he suddenly had feelings for me. Just be his friend.<br/>"Alright, I'd love to stay here and hear about how your girlfriend talks too much, but this bag is getting kinda heavy so I'm gonna head inside," I sighed, pushing away from the car.<br/>"I swear, only you would actually bring a backpack to the last day of high school," he laughed and I could feel my face heat at his criticism.<br/>"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared," I defended, head held high before turning on my heel to walk inside. His laughter was cut off when I slammed the door. He could really be irritating when he wanted to be.<br/>I'd wanted to get in his face and yell at him because I didn't have a free ride like he did. I had to make sure I got good grades to keep my scholarships. I'd had to capitalize on my dad's death to get another one. That's how much I needed the money.<br/>But I couldn't say all that to him, because it would make things awkward the way it always did whenever it got pointed out how different our lives were. He was Mr. Popular. Captain of the football team with a perfect little happy family. I was Ms. Spend Her Free Time Working at the Diner To Help Pay Bills. Shy artist with a dead dad and crazy mom.<br/>I shook away the thoughts. It wasn't Colton's fault. He was just joking around. Maybe one day I'd bring it up. Like, say, on my deathbed. I got to my room and flopped face-first onto my bed. I tried to dredge up my former euphoria.<br/>I was done with high school forever. No more petty drama. No more rumor mills ruining peoples lives. I'd just spend the summer relaxing before going off to art school. With that thought I shot off the bed. The next time I went to class would be for art.<br/>I pressed play on my stereo and Katy Perry's Firework came out. I had absolutely no dance experience but I didn't care as I jumped around and danced with glee. In the back of my mind I realized that I wasn't in shape enough to dance this hard but adrenaline pushed me through it.<br/>When the song ended I turned the music down and looked at myself in my vanity mirror. My pale face was flushed and my hazel eyes were wide with excitement. My insanely curly black hair was now even more of a mess and I internally groaned at having to brush it out later.<br/>Bzz Bzz<br/>I heard the sound and looked down at my phone. I smiled when I saw what made it buzz. It was a text from Colton.<br/>'Lol is this yours?' he messaged and sent a picture of a small pink bra with cartoon frogs on it. My smile instantly disappeared. That was my training bra. I'd spent the night at his house in sixth grade and left it there. Oh my God this wasn't happening. The feeling of horror contrasted against my elation so drastically that I felt dizzy.<br/>Before I knew it my feet were carrying me down the stairs and out the door like Flash. I didn't even use the porch steps, instead jumping straight over them and ignoring the shot of pain caused by my bare feet on hard concrete.<br/>I didn't know what I was doing. It made no sense that me taking it back would undo him seeing it. In all likelihood, my awkwardness would probably make it worse. But my rational mind ceased to exist at that moment. Unthinkingly, I opened his front door like it was my own and continued running.<br/>That is, until I slammed into a tall body that'd been standing right behind the door. The force of the collision caused us both to stumble, me more so than him. I braced myself for the look on his face as I slowly opened my eyes. Relief was quickly followed by confusion when I saw it wasn't Colton.<br/>He was as tall as Colton and they had the same tan but that was the only similarity. Where Colton had blonde side-swept hair, this guy had dark brown that was styled into casual disarray. This guy was also way more fit than Colton was and the black v-neck he wore showed it off proudly. His brown eyes mirrored my own expression.<br/>"What the Hell?" I heard myself saying, shocked.<br/>"Um, I think you just took my line," the guy responded, standing up straighter. I did the same in response.<br/>"What are you doing here?" I continued to ask, surprising myself. I was supposed to be shy, quiet, afraid to initiate conversation. What was it about this guy that made me forget all that? Must be the shock.<br/>"What are you doing here?" he asked, throwing my question back.<br/>"Quit copying me and answer the damn question," I snapped, riding a strange high as I spoke boldly. I put my hands on my hips, impatient. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, he was interrupted.<br/>"Hey Vi!" Colton greeted from where he stood at the bottom of the stairs.<br/>And just like that my boldness was gone and I couldn't bring myself to look at the guy. Of course my shyness was immediately replaced with embarrassment when he held up that stupid training bra and I remembered why I was here in the first place. I snatched it away as quickly as I could and hid it behind my back, glaring through my embarrassment.<br/>"You know her?" the guy suddenly asked, causing me to look up at his incredulous face.  The way he said it made me feel two inches tall. Like I wasn't good enough to know Colton. Then I was abruptly angry. Screw this guy! He didn't know me!<br/>Of course my quiet nature now denied me the ability to actually say these things out loud.<br/>"Yeah, this is Viola. She's my best friend. I told you about her before you got here," he reminded him.<br/>"This is Viola? She's different from what you said," he defended himself calmly, and I immediately wanted to know how I'd been described by Colton. Was it good? Did he say I was gorgeous and funny and great? Was it bad? Did he say I was the short girl that lived next door?<br/>"What did you say?" I voiced my question without thinking and it came out slightly accusatory. Colton seemed baffled by my sudden willingness to say anything in front of a stranger. Understandable.<br/>"I just said you were my best friend and lived next door and that you'd probably get uncomfortable if he tried to talk to you," he explained, putting his hands up as if he was about to be arrested.<br/>"See, that's why I didn't know it was her! She wouldn't shut up!" the guy piped up and I glared. I hadn't talked that much. Then again, I had sworn at him every time I opened my mouth.<br/>"What? Seriously?" Colton asked before looking back at me incredulously.<br/>"Yeah, she almost knocked me down then started yelling at me," he replied.<br/>If looks could kill the guy would be dead on the floor right now.<br/>"Chill Vi," Colton soothed, seeing my expression, "Let's start over. Viola, this is James. James, Viola," I just kept staring at Colton. "...James is staying with us for the summer," he seemed to feel uncomfortable at my unresponsiveness.<br/>"Delete the picture of my bra and I'll see you tomorrow," I spoke evenly before leaving. I got a fleeting look at James as I turned and saw his lips twitch into a smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Girl Next Door</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What does James think of the girl-next-door?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Switching to Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Oh my God. This girl was great. The look of shock on her face alone was enough to make me want to laugh. Then she started swearing at with her tiny hands balled into fists and I almost broke down.<br/>"I'm sorry, dude. She's never acted like that before," Colton apologized, turning to face me full on while running a hand through his Ken-Doll hair.<br/>"What can I say, I've got a way with the ladies," I shrugged before dropping onto the couch like I'd been heading to do before I'd gotten run over. He laughed, but there was an edge to it and his eyes shifted away.<br/>"What?" I asked with a sigh. He wanted to say something, that was obvious.<br/>"You're just joking, right? I mean, you’re not interested?" he seemed hopeful. That threw me. He'd said they were just friends, hadn't he? Were they in a friends-with-benefits relationship? That'd be irritating seeing as how I knew he had a girlfriend.<br/>"Why? Are you two...?" I trailed off suggestively and his eyes widened.<br/>"No! No, I don't think of her like that. I've known her since I was, like, five. I just, please stay away from her, dude. She's like my sister and if you-"<br/>"Woah, woah, I just met her man! Calm down," I interrupted irritably. His words insulted me. It wasn’t like I’d ever done anything to hurt any girl. In fact, I was quite proud of the fact that all my relationships ended amicably.<br/>"Sorry," he huffed before sitting next to me, "Can you do me a favor?"<br/>"Maybe," I replied warily. I wasn't one for making blind promises.<br/>"Can you just avoid her while you're here?" he seemed to think this would be any easy promise to make.<br/>"Uh, no," I started, "You guys are best friends and she lives next door. I'm not going out of my way for two months to not see someone. Especially since she's hot," I tacked on. She really was gorgeous. The white against black contrast and her delicate features that'd seemed to be in a permanent scowl while she'd been here.<br/>"Please, I'm begging here," he grimaced, "And please don't call her hot in front of me. It's weird."<br/>I laughed at his discomfort but agreed -for now.<br/>"I won't promise that. How about I promise not to go out of my way to talk to her," I suggested and he reluctantly nodded. "If it helps, I don't think she likes me all that much anyways," I shrugged, surprised at the pang of disappointment the thought caused.<br/>He laughed, "You're right. I probably have nothing to worry about."<br/>I punched his arm -hard- before standing up to turn on the XBox. I grabbed a controller and sat back down.<br/>"Call of Duty here I come. You in?" I asked, gesturing to the extra controller.<br/>"Hard pass, bro," he said before getting up and heading for the stairs again.<br/>"You're probably the only guy that doesn't like video games," I called over my shoulder, only half focused on talking to him. The other half was choosing my player.<br/>"Viola says the same thing," he chuckled under his breath, surprising me by talking about her at all after his weird possessive thing. I turned back but he was gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Transformation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola and her best friend get ready to graduate high school.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Viola!" someone yelled and I muttered a profanity into my pillow as I was shaken awake. "Cursing isn't ladylike, Vi. Now get up and get cute. We're graduating today!" Allison practically sang. I opened one eye and peeked at my alarm clock.<br/>"Jesus, Ally. It's only nine o'clock. Let me sleep in for my first day as a non-highschooler," I grumbled, words becoming more slurred towards the end. I jerked up when she swiftly swatted  my butt.<br/>"No. We gotta get up and get cute now because we gotta be there at noon. Now get up lazy bones," she lilted as she pushed me off the bed. I was forced to stand unless I wanted to fall to the floor.<br/>"Ally, you don't have makeup on. Why do I have to?" I asked drowsily as I took in her sweats and natural face.<br/>She frowned. "It's no fun to get cute if we don't do it together. I swear, it's like you're a guy," she huffed and I mustered up the energy to smack her arm, resulting in a satisfying 'ow!'.<br/>"I'm not a guy," I grumbled as I passed her to get a look at myself in the mirror. Suddenly I wondered if it weren't true? My hair was everywhere. Honestly, I didn't look like a girl or a guy. I looked like a beast. I couldn't tame this. I turned to her for help and she gave me a knowing look. I sighed before giving the best puppy dog face I could.<br/>"Ally will you pretty, pretty please do my hair?" I asked sweetly. In the past, she'd been the only one able to fix it and she refused to tell me how she did it. Something about having control...<br/>She rolled her eyes dramatically before agreeing and sitting me on my vanity stool. I didn't know how, but after ten minutes, my hair was back to it's natural curliness. Still very curly, but I could work with it now.<br/>I reached into the vanity drawer for my seldom used makeup before my hand was slapped away.<br/>"Would you quit smacking me?" I complained.<br/>"We have to put on our outfits first, or else we'll get makeup on them later putting them on!" she defended. If I weren't so grateful for her help with my hair, I would've snapped. Instead, I bit down on my tongue and went to my closet where I'd set aside fancy 'graduation' clothes.<br/>The skirt was black and flowed freely down to my mid-thighs. My top was a pretty green with black designs weaving here and there. It was a flowing off-shoulder thing that I tucked into the waistband of my skirt. I hid the seam with a black belt that cinched my waist.<br/>I turned to Allison who had on a fitted, baby pink dress that flared out at her hips and stopped mid-thigh. The simpleness of it was actually attractive and the light color against her tan complexion looked awesome.<br/>"We are just the cutest," I complimented, being a girl for a moment and joining in her giggles.<br/>"Okay, okay. This is just phase one. Phase two: makeup," she directed, sitting on my stool and taking out a bag of makeup she'd brought with her.<br/>"Al, why do you even want to do this? You hate wearing makeup," I reminded her, remembering how she'd worn makeup maybe three times in the last 10 years.<br/>"Oh, Vi," she shook her head in mock sadness, "I'm doing this so all the guys that never asked me out will get a good look at what they missed out on."<br/>I couldn't help but burst into laughter, wiping away tears, "That's just... yes," I said as a fresh round of giggles overtook me.<br/>"And maybe a certain boy next door type might see a certain girl next door type differently, too," she hinted and my laughter stopped. "Just a thought," she shrugged flippantly, dabbing liquid foundation onto her cheeks.<br/>Could makeup really change Colton's feelings about me? I'd never worn serious makeup around him before. Maybe, just maybe, it could do something. But it's better not to get my hopes up. While Allison hogged the vanity with her makeup, I worked my hair into a french braid that curved to rest over my left shoulder, leaving just a single curly strand hanging over my ear on the right side.<br/>"Okay, I'm done," she announced, looking at her smoothed complexion, pink lips, bold eyeliner, and smoky eye. I wanted to take a before and after shot. Her regular sweats versus this pink dress and flawless makeup.<br/>"My turn," I said, scooting her off the stool and reaching for my makeup drawer for the second time. If she slapped my hand this time I'd have no problem taking a dishrag to her newly-painted face.<br/>I looked into the mirror to see what had to be done. My skin didn't have any blemishes so no need for concealer or liquid foundation. I should probably apply the powder foundation, though. Nobody's skin is that perfect. I shouldn't even think about touching my eyebrows. They were defined and curved just how I liked.<br/>I covered my entire eyelid in a neutral tone to even it out. My eyebrows and hair already made my face dark so I used natural colors instead of the smoky eye. I looked at my eyes and quickly decided my lashes made eyeliner unnecessary. Well, at least not on the upper lid. I used the crayon to trace the thinnest of lines under my eyes before moving to the standard mascara. I blinked back at myself. Not bad.<br/>I decided to keep with the natural color scheme, choosing a shiny gloss that brought out the color in my lips. Finally, the blush. I'd seen my natural blush before and I chose the color accordingly, sweeping it along my cheekbones.<br/>"There," I breathed, looking at myself proudly in the mirror. For someone who never did this, I did a damn good job. Suddenly hands were on my shoulders and I was being shaken in excitement.<br/>"Oh my God! We look so cute. Dude’s panties will be dropping tonight," she joked smugly and I blushed under my blush. All the guy's? Even Colton? Maybe.<br/>"That’s gross. And weird," I scolded, used to her language but still uncomfortable around sexual innuendos.<br/>"Prude," she muttered. While she was also a virgin, she liked to tease me about being so uptight. I turned around to look at what she'd done with her hair while I'd created my face.<br/>Her usual straight bangs had been swept to the side and she'd used a curling wand to give her dark, shoulder-length hair soft waves. I turned and looked at us both in the mirror. Yep, panties would drop, not that I'd ever say it aloud.<br/>"Viola! Time to go!" Mom yelled up at us. I looked at the alarm clock. 15 minutes. I gave myself another quick once-over before walking to the closet to put on my emerald heels. I turned and saw Allison heading to her bag to do the same.<br/>"By the way, who was the dude that came out to get the mail today? He was hot," she suddenly asked, balancing on one tan bootie as she tried to slip the other over her heel. I rolled my eyes, knowing instantly who she was referring to.<br/>"That was James. He’s staying for the summer. I’m pretty sure it’s the same James Colton mentioned when he went to California for break. I’m pretty sure James was his older cousin. A freshman, I think,” I explained, remembering how Colton had spent a week complaining after he got back.<br/>"In college?" she asked, smiling when I nodded. "Oh my God, an older guy!" she gasped, finally getting the shoe on and turning back to me. "How epic. And he's going to be living right next door! If this thing with Colton doesn't work out, you should definitely give him a try," she suggested with a grin.<br/>I turned away quickly, grabbing my locket, and rushed down the stairs as fast as my heels would let me, blushing the entire way.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Graduation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James sits through his cousin's graduation and attends the after party his aunt and uncle threw. If he just so happens to see Viola there, well, he's not complaining.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Dude, aren't you ready yet? You've got to be there in ten minutes and you woke up two hours ago!" I yelled up the stairs. Colton's parents had already left and put me in charge of getting him there. I felt like a babysitter. I heard a car start up outside and peeked out the window to see a green punch buggy driving down the road, followed by a station wagon.<br/>"C'mon, man. That Viola chick left before you! Get your ass down here!" I yelled up at him again. Nancy would kill me if he missed his graduation. Or more accurately, if she missed his graduation.<br/>"I'm coming, I’m coming. Chill," he snapped as he finally came down the stairs in his graduation cap and gown. I could see a blue collared shirt peeking through the neckline.<br/>"Sometimes you can be worse than a girl," I muttered, grabbing my keys and cell phone off the counter and walking outside. I made sure I heard him walking behind me before I stepped to the drivers side of the car.<br/>"So who is this chick you're dating?" I asked to make conversation in the quiet car.<br/>"Her name's Hannah," he sighed with a smile, eyes growing far away as he continued, "She's amazing. She's beautiful and nice and smart. And she can dance like nobody's business!"<br/>Nice... I wasn't sure about nice. It seemed very shallow. Like being polite. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either.<br/>"A dancer, eh?" I asked, images of spandex and stretching taking my thoughts down a joyful road.<br/>"Shut up," he mumbled and looked away, but from the blush on his cheeks I knew his thoughts had gone exactly the same way when he first found out she was a dancer. I laughed.<br/>We arrived at the school and he practically ran to the auditorium to make it in time. I, however, took my sweet time, noticing the green punch buggy parked closer than us. I was uncomfortable with how aware I was of Viola, even if I couldn't see her.<br/>I shook off the thought as I made my way to sit next to Nancy. The class President was just walking off the stage and the Principal stepped up to the microphone to start calling out names.<br/>I wished I'd just stayed home when he started listing them off, starting with the A's. Aarons, Abbey, Adams...<br/>I couldn't believe I came here voluntarily.<br/>Baker... Baley... Ah, finally.<br/>Colton Barton. We all watched as he got up and walked across the stage, pausing to take his picture shaking the principal's hand with his diploma. His parents beamed with pride as he did the same thing 37 other students had done. Then it continued. Jesus, I had 24 more letters to go.<br/>Fairfield... Fellows... Ferguson...<br/>Had my graduation been this boring?<br/>Miller... Miyagi... Moretti...<br/>Wait. Did he say Viola Moretti? I looked up, intrigued again. There she was, dwarfed in her graduation gown as she walked to the stage. Why was I so interested in this girl? She'd never said one nice word to me. Maybe that was why.<br/>The last half seemed to go on even more slowly. I was ready to break into song and dance when a guy named Ryan Zelner sat down, the principal exclaimed this was the class of 2018, and everyone started to rise from their seats.<br/>"Hey, do you guys want to take Colton back?" I asked hopefully, remembering my graduation and how the students didn't make it home until an hour later.<br/>"Yeah, we'll take him," Bryan said, speaking for the first time since I got here yesterday. I was free and clear to drive straight back to the house.<br/>I couldn't help but notice the little VW Bug on my way out. I got in the car quickly and made it out of the parking lot before most of the parents had gotten out of the auditorium. I pressed a button on the console and then I was rocking out to Arctic Monkeys.<br/>The neighborhood was quiet when I pulled into the Barton's driveway, turning off the car and stepping out. I made straight for Josh's room a.k.a. my room for the summer. The darkness of his room creeped me out a little so I opened the blinds, letting in the summer sun.<br/>A house caught my eye and I realized my window stared directly across into a window on Viola's house. I wonder if it was hers? I tried to squint and see the decor but the distance and the reflection off the window made it impossible.<br/>I kicked my shoes off and lay back on my bed to ponder. It'd be really cool if that was the window to her room. It might help me get around my promise to not talk to her. I could just say I was hanging out in my room and she happened to be there.<br/>Before I knew it, I was being awoken by the front door opening. Looking out the window, I noticed the sun was lower in the sky and there was a slight murmur of multiple people talking. I walked downstairs to see what was up.<br/>My eyes widened when I saw that there were about twenty five people surrounding both the Barton's and the Moretti's front yards. Bryan was setting up tables for food and drinks and Nancy was the epitome of a socialite. I rolled my eyes at the pretension.<br/>I could see Colton talking to a couple of guys with his arm wrapped around a tall blonde with killer legs. They had all removed their caps and gowns. Colton and the guys were wearing what could be acceptably dubbed the frat boy starter pack. The girl had on a sexy red dress with black heels. Probably the dancer girlfriend.<br/>I scanned my eyes around the rest of the crowd, telling myself I wasn't looking for anyone in particular, when I saw her. She was talking to a girl with a pink dress and short brown curls<br/>She had a nice little skirt and shirt combo and her hair was restricted to one side, leaving the other pale shoulder exposed. And then my feet were moving. What was I doing? Well, I knew what I was doing. I was breaking my promise. <br/>Oh, well.<br/>Her gaze finally landed on me when I got closer until I was standing next to both of them. Her eyes flashed with something I couldn't identify yet and she did something I've never seen before. Her mouth pulled up into a shy smile.<br/>"Hey," I greeted, making sure it looked like I said it to both of them so I didn't exclude her friend. "Who's this?" I asked to further include her.<br/>"James, this is Ally," she gestured to the brown-haired girl, "She's my other best friend."<br/>"Hey Ally, I'm Colt's cousin. I'm going to be staying here this summer before I go back to LA," I formally introduced myself and saw Viola give Ally a warning look. Ally ignored it.<br/>"Oh my Gosh that's so funny! Vi is going to LA for art school this spring. Maybe you guys'll see each other down there!" she exclaimed, seeming unnaturally excited.<br/>But I liked her. Right now, I could see that Viola really was shy and it was probably the surprise that had her talking yesterday. But Ally seemed like the type of person to counteract that quiet instinct.<br/>"Yeah, that'd be cool," I agreed, "That way you'll have a friend there. Well, unless you already know someone."<br/>She moved her fidgeting hands behind her back and shook her head. "No, I don't. Yet. But I'm sure I'll make some," she said, voice rising in pitch, unsure.<br/>Her eyes looked to something behind me a fraction of a second before I felt a hand clap down on my shoulder. Damnit.<br/>"James! What's up, man?" he greeted me with an edge, squeezing my shoulder a little harder. Not enough to hurt but enough to know he was irritated. I rolled my eyes and turned, including him into our little circle that now held four people. Wait, five. He still had the blonde next to him.<br/>"Nothing much. I was just being introduced to Ally. Then you came and interrupted," I said, trying to play it light for the crowd around us. I was getting Hell for this later. Colton started saying something else but I didn't hear it. I was focused on the microexpressions in the group.<br/>Ally was discreetly glaring at the blonde. The blonde was doing the same to Viola. And Viola was staring at Colton, completely wrapped up in anything he said. She liked him. I remembered him cringing at the thought of them together like that. Poor girl.<br/>"James," I heard my name being called and I refocused on the conversation. Everyone was now looking at me. Shit.<br/>"What?" I asked. Colton rolled his eyes.<br/>"I asked if you were going to come out to Giles County tomorrow? We're all going to the lake to have a non-formal celebration. Swimming is not optional," Ally repeated. It sucked that I'd have to deny, seeing as how I wanted to see Viola in a bikini. Another squeeze on my shoulder brought me out of that fantasy.<br/>"Oh, um, probably not," I answered and Colton seemed to relax a fraction, "I wouldn't really know anybody so I'm not sure I'd be any fun."<br/>"What? You know us! Besides, what else are you gonna do?" she tried to persuade, but I was still aware of Colton next to me.<br/>"He said no, Ally," Colton snapped before I could politely deny again, and everyone started at the change in his tone, even the blonde.<br/>"Fine, Colton. It was just a suggestion. No need to get your panties in a wad," Ally huffed, annoyed, before leaving to go talk to some man with grey hair.<br/>"Well, I'm gonna go," I said after the atmosphere had become sufficiently awkward, and I saw Viola crack a small smile at my departure tone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Is This What Sexy Feels Like?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola kinda-sorta enjoys the rest of the party before leaving, reflecting on the emotions of the day.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I watched James' retreating figure until he disappeared inside the house.<br/>"And then there were three," I muttered, causing Colton to laugh and butterflies to rise in my stomach. Hannah cleared her throat and we both looked at her.<br/>"Vi," she started, looking sympathetic. "Can I have a moment alone with Colton?" She finished in a sickly sweet voice.<br/>"Um, sure, I guess," I stuttered awkwardly before walking away. I was able to catch Colton's gaze on the way out and his disappointed expression made me feel a bit warmer. He didn’t want me to leave.<br/>I wandered around the yard, not wanting to start a formal conversation with anyone. I sneaked a couple glances at Hannah and Colton and smiled pettily to myself when I saw that their conversation didn't seem entirely pleasant.<br/>"Viola!" I heard my name shouted from behind me. I turned to see my mom making her way through the throng of people until she reached me, drink in hand. Great.<br/>"Hey mom. Having fun?" I asked, gesturing to the clear liquid I'd seen too much of and she laughed.<br/>"It's water, honey. Don't worry," she soothed before her expression grew somber, "You look beautiful today."<br/>"Thanks, Mom," I responded, knowing that wasn't what she wanted to say. When I was younger I thought Mom's could automatically read their kid's mind. Nowadays it seemed to be the other way around.<br/>"I wish your dad was here to see you walking across that stage," she continued and my hand automatically went to my locket, as it always seemed to whenever he was mentioned. "I'm so proud of you and, even though I'm sad that you're going so far away, I'm happy for you," she finished, giving my forehead a kiss.<br/>"Mom, you're embarrassing me," I joked and she pulled away, laughing and using a finger to wipe the moisture from her eyes.<br/>"Okay, I'll let you get back to mingling. I'm sure Colton or Ally are searching for you somewhere around here," she smiled before meeting someone's eyes and walking away.<br/>Yeah, I'll bet he's looking for me I thought sarcastically, imagining him playing tongue twister with Hannah, a sight I'd seen far too many times. I shivered, my skirt and shirt doing almost nothing to protect me from the cool air that had started to replace the sun. Maybe I could find Al-<br/>My laugh cut off my train of thought as I caught sight of a girl in a light pink dress making out with a guy in a polo and cargo shorts. Glad the makeup worked for Ally. She'd been crushing on Ryan for months.<br/>"Don't go past second base," I muttered loud enough for them to hear as I passed them on my way into my house. I heard the sound of a laugh being muffled by lips and smiled to myself.<br/>I could've stayed inside and continued to mingle, but I had been done with the whole party after the first ten minutes. So I climbed the stairs and went to my bathroom, making sure to lock it behind me. The last thing I'd need would be a guest walking in on me naked.<br/>I slid the belt off, quickly followed by my other clothes that got tossed on the floor along with my shoes. I bent to turn the hot water on and waited for the shower to heat up.<br/>Staring at my naked body in the mirror, I began to wonder if I were possibly as attractive as Hannah. My body wasn't as defined as hers, but I wasn’t out of shape. My body seemed softer, the muscles not as angular. <br/>I sighed and stepped under the hot spray. I'd never be as sexy as her, but I wasn't unattractive. There was a possibility that Colton could find me attractive that way. Someday. Maybe. My thoughts wandered on to possibilities as I cleaned the day off of me.<br/>It surprised me to find that I wasn't completely and utterly devastated about Colton's lack of response to my makeup. It was disappointing, but nothing could seriously hinder the excitement of graduating. But then he was acting all protective and kinda possessive when James started talking to me in a way that made my insides flutter.<br/>I could see the discomfort on James' face when he realized Colton saw him talking to me. It was obvious he knew he was in trouble and was made even more obvious when he declined to go to the lake with us. But the way he was staring at me after Ally talked about swimsuits made me feel sexy for the first time since... ever.<br/>Wait. Was I thinking about James as attractive right now? No, it was probably just what Allison said. He was hot. That was undeniable. But I couldn't be attracted to him like I was attracted to Colton. Right?</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton chews James out for talking to Viola. James decides to respect his cousin and resigns himself to leave Viola alone. If only she shut her curtains at night...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>My door flew open, as I’d expected it would after all the guests left. Colton barreled in, still obviously pissed. Jesus, it’d been two hours. I thought he would’ve at least chilled a little. He was such a girl.<br/>“Seriously? One day? You couldn’t even go one day without breaking your promise?” he fumed, starting to pace. “I mean, you could’ve just stayed up here and not talked to anybody. But, no, you had to come down and make a beeline directly towards my best friend.”<br/>I rolled my eyes at his hysterics, “What the Hell is wrong with you? Why are you freaking out about this so much? All that happened was her introducing me to Allison. Or Alyssa. Whatever Ally is short for.”<br/>“I’m freaking out because I don’t want to lose her as a friend if you start messing around. You can mess around with anyone but her, dude.”<br/>“I’m not ‘messing around’ with anyone. She seems cool and I thought we could maybe be friends. Even if I did like her, what makes you think I’d do anything wrong?” I defended myself. I had no clue why he thought I was such a bad guy. Probably because he had his perfect little life and anything outside of it was considered 'riff-raff'.<br/>“I just can’t take chances,” he sighed, losing steam, “If you can’t promise me anything else in life, then say you won’t talk to her again.”<br/>“No,” I spoke plainly. I wasn’t about to promise him anything with the way he was acting.<br/>“No?” he repeated scathingly, daring me to deny him again. I crossed my arms over my chest.<br/>“I’m not going to promise that. She’s cool and I don’t know anyone else here. Plus she lives right next door,” I replied with a shrug.<br/>“Are you fucking-” he was cut off by his phone ringing. He gave me a betrayed look before answering and turning to leave, “Hey, Hannah…”<br/>I leaned back on the bed, looking at the ceiling as I thought about our conversation. He was being a dick. Then again, I was kind of being a dick, too. Maybe I should lay off. He was my cousin, after all. Love and all that should make me loyal if nothing else.<br/>So I’d stay away from her. I’d spend time up here or driving around, finding good places to hang out. Maybe I'd find some other summer fling. Ally seemed cool and Colt hadn't put her off limits.<br/>I heaved myself off the bed and moved to close the blinds. My hand froze when I saw a light come on from the window on her house. It looked like it was painted pink with white furniture. From this angle I could only see a bed and nightstand.<br/>Then she passed by the window. She was wearing a grandma robe that hid everything but her hands and face, and her wet hair fell down to her waist as she used a towel to dry it out. She threw it somewhere I couldn’t see before she turned to the window.<br/>I moved as quickly as I was able to get out of view, heart beating in my chest like a drum. I hoped beyond all hope that she hadn’t seen me watching her through the window like some fucking creep.<br/>I peeked one eye out the window after a minute and saw that her curtains were closed. I prayed it was just habit and not something she did in response to me.<br/>Either way, I wasn’t going to let myself watch her again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Sneak Peek</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola catches a glimpse of James that shows off a lot more than what he saw before heading to the lake with Colton and friends.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I grabbed a brush off the vanity and sat down on the bed to brush out my thick curls, thinking about Colton like usual. Then I caught movement in my peripheral vision through a slight crack in my curtains.<br/>
Setting the brush down, I made my way over to the window to look outside. Maybe it was an animal. Or my imagination. I had been thinking about Colton, after all, which had definitely only happened in my imagination.<br/>
Blinking out into the night, my eyes caught on the window opposite mine. For the first time since Josh moved out, there was the light of a desk lamp on, illuminating a glorious sight. James was in the process of taking off his shirt.<br/>
Holy crap.<br/>
The muscles that had been hinted at earlier were in full view now. He had at least a six pack topped with pecs and wide, muscular shoulders. His black boxers peeked out slightly at the waistband of his jeans that sat low on his hips.<br/>
I shouldn’t be watching him like this but I didn’t think bodies like that could exist outside of porn and Photoshop. I snapped my curtains all the way shut when he started to unbutton his pants, blushing profusely as I sank into my chair.<br/>
I picked my brush up again and got rid of the rest of the tangles in my hair, wishing the pain would help me forget the image of James half-naked. I swallowed as I put my hair in it’s nightly braid.<br/>
I walked to my dresser and slipped on soft purple shorts and a green tank top. I climbed into bed and brought Colton to the forefront of my mind. He was nice and funny and smart and I might’ve even loved him… but James had the better body.<br/>
No. Damnit. Don’t think about James’ body. Think about Colton…<br/>
I woke up after having the best dream about Colton. We were dating and having fun and he loved me. It made me unwilling to wake up. A sound from outside had me going to the window to see Colton getting the mail. I opened the window and leaned out.<br/>
“Hey, neighbor!” I pipe up, and his attention goes to me, “Wanna hang out later?”<br/>
He gave me an ‘are you kidding me?’ expression. “Vi, we’re all going to the lake today, remember?”<br/>
Oh, yeah. The lake. With a bunch of people. Great. He chuckled at my involuntary frown. “Well then I guess I already know the answer,” I said lightly, “See you there!”<br/>
I ducked back into my room before he responded and pulled the band from my hair, letting it fall loosely around my shoulders as I made my way to the dresser, peeling off my pajamas as I went.<br/>
I picked out my favorite army patterned bikini and put it on. I was too much of a prude to get a string bikini so the one I wore covered my entire butt and, instead of triangles, my top was a single band around my boobs, held up by a strap around my neck.<br/>
I slipped on some jean shorts and a blue Captain America t-shirt and was on my way to the bathroom to get a beach towel. Skipping down the stairs, I gave my mom a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing my keys and bounding out the door to my car.<br/>
The drive to the lake was only about an hour long and there were probably a hundred kids spread along the shore when I got there. I had no doubt more were going to come. Great.<br/>
My mood abruptly lifted when I saw Colton jogging over to meet me as I padded along the half-dirt half-sand bank. He seemed breathless when he got to me and I realized he’d probably been a part of the volleyball game I saw going on behind him.<br/>
“Hey, I’m glad you finally came to something!” he grinned. I rolled my eyes at his never ending jokes about my lack of socialization.<br/>
“Well, this is the last day I have off work this week, might as well soak in the rays while I can,” I sighed, laying my towel down and basking in the sunlight and accepting I was going to wake up burnt tomorrow.<br/>
He sat down next to me, resting his elbows on his bent knees. “Yeah because I’m sure LA won’t have rays,” he teased. We sat in silence until I remembered something I wanted to ask him.<br/>
“What was with you yesterday?” I questioned bluntly.<br/>
“What do you mean?” he asked, turning his body slightly in  my direction.<br/>
“Well you were kinda being a dick to James,” I reminded him.<br/>
“What are you talking about? I didn’t say anything to him."<br/>
“I’ve known you 13 years, Colt. You don’t have to say anything for me to know you were being a dick.”<br/>
“Would you quit calling me that?” he snapped at me. What was that tone about? I sat up and turned to look at him full on.<br/>
“Woah, I was just joking around. What’s wrong?” I asked seriously. For some reason, James seemed to be a sore subject.<br/>
“Sorry. We’ve just been fighting is all,” he dismissed, giving me a strange look that made me feel like I was being examined under a microscope.<br/>
“About what?” I hedged, copying his position.<br/>
"Nothing too important. Just guy stuff. Kinda like when Josh was still around," he muttered with an overly-casual shrug. I debated whether or not to call him on the lie.<br/>
Then I saw a strawberry blonde Barbie running over to us like a character on Baywatch, boobs bouncing and hair flowing. I forced myself not to roll my eyes at her perfection.<br/>
“Hey, Baby,” she greeted him and ignored me, per the norm. I’d always suspected that she didn’t like me very much. Colton nodded up at her and said ‘hey’ back.<br/>
“The guys were wondering when you were coming back? They’re getting creamed without you,” she lilted in a flirtatious voice. A cocky grin spread over Colton’s face and he gave me a wink before standing up and running off with Little Miss Perfect.<br/>
I sighed and removed my shorts and t-shirt, exposing my pale skin and laying back on the towel. I knew it was a mistake. I was going to be red as a tomato, with a zero point one percent chance of getting tan.<br/>
Just as I felt my body covered in a sheen of sweat, a bucket of water was being dumped on me and I screamed, looking up to see Allison holding an empty blue pale with a wicked look in her eyes.<br/>
“You can get tan in your backyard. The lake is for swimming,” she ordered as my shock turned to anger. People’s eyes were on me and I felt like strangling my friend.<br/>
I shot up off the ground at her unrepentant expression and she let out a small shriek before running away as I chased her. She waded into the water, daring me to follow. I thought ‘To Hell with it, I’m already soaked’ before coming in after her.<br/>
“Okay, okay, mercy!” she let out between giggles as I tried to keep her head under water.<br/>
I laughed with her, anger having evaporated during the chase. She cocked a brow at me in silent invitation before swimming into deeper waters and laying back. I joined her.<br/>
“So did the makeup work?” she suddenly asked, and I felt a sting of remembered disappointment. He hadn't even skipped a beat when he first saw me with it.<br/>
“No,” I sighed, “He didn’t even notice.”<br/>
“Damn,” she said, mirroring my tone.<br/>
“I saw it worked for you, though,” I replied, lightening the mood, “Did you and Ryan make out all night?”<br/>
She laughed, “Oh, yeah. Until your mom saw us and made us stand three feet apart like seventh graders at a school dance. You should’ve seen his face.”<br/>
I laughed, too, “Sorry that she ruined your fun. Are you gonna see him again?” I asked, wondering if her love story would work out. I hoped that at least one of ours would before summer was over.<br/>
“Hell no. I told you yesterday. I’m just giving them a good look on what they missed out on all these years before taking it away,” she laughed evilly, accidentally swallowing water and choking slightly.<br/>
And so went the rest of the day like that. I talked to Ally mostly, though Colton would come by frequently. I didn’t need to talk to anyone else. My two best friends were enough.<br/>
I was exhausted by the time I got home, barely making it through a shower before flopping down on top of my covers. Two seconds before unconsciousness overtook me, I caught a glance of tan skin and brown hair through my window.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More chapters coming soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Palm Springs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton gets an invite to go on vacation with his girlfriend.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I didn’t hear Colton’s Lexus pull in, but I noticed when the front door banged open. I could hear the sound of his deep voice contrasting with the giggling of the blonde. Hannah. I heard his door close and then neither of them were talking. I tried not to think about what that meant.<br/>Poor Viola. She liked Colton and probably had to hear him talk about his girlfriend all the time. Had to know that they did stuff. Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he told her they'd had sex. The guy was clueless.<br/>I shook my head and went downstairs to get a Coke. I preferred Pepsi but the Barton’s didn’t like it. Whatever. I heard giggling start up again and went back to my room, picking up my guitar to drown out the noise. Sickening.<br/>I was getting to the third stanza when Colton opened my door with an irritated look. “Dude, you’re killing the mood.”<br/>It took everything in me not to laugh. “I know. That’s what I was going for. It’s real weird to listen to you and her doing whatever it is you’re doing.”<br/>“If I promise to be quiet, will you stop playing?” he sighed.<br/>“Fine. Whatever. Get out,” I retorted, putting my guitar back in it’s stand.<br/>“Maybe you could go downstairs and play those video games you’re so obsessed with,” he suggested as he disappeared down the hall.<br/>That actually sounded like a good idea. I went back downstairs and picked up the controller, resuming my game from yesterday. True to his word, Colton and Hannah shut up as I gunned people down.<br/>It wasn’t 15 minutes later that they both came downstairs, faces flushed. Gross. I focused harder on the game in an effort to ignore them.<br/>“So, I was thinking,” Hannah started, “Haley, Katie, Andrew, Shawn, and I are going down to Palm Springs in a month for summer vacation. Do you wanna come?”<br/>“Yeah, sure,” Colton answered, obviously not hesitating to think about costs or how it would affect, say, a certain girl next door. Maybe Colton and Hannah were meant to be together. They were both 'nice'.<br/>“Really? Thank you baby, you’re just the-” Hannah started before I interrupted.<br/>“Okay if you guys are going to do that sappy shit, please go outside. I’m trying to kill people over here and you're ruining the mood,” I grumbled, never looking away from the game. I heard the door shut. A couple minutes later it opened again. I knew from the lack of stiletto clicks that Colton was alone.<br/>“You’re going to Palm Springs?” I questioned, dubious.<br/>“Yeah, for two weeks,” he shrugged casually. I turned off the XBox and stood up, walking around the couch and towards the stairs.<br/>“Congrats,” I muttered as I walked past him in the kitchen.<br/>As soon as I closed my door I lifted my shirt over my head, my gaze being immediately drawn out my window where I saw Viola’s light on. She was splayed on top of her covers in that hilariously hideous robe. Our eyes met for one second before hers closed and her mouth parted open slightly in unconsciousness. I half-smiled. Somebody was worn out.<br/>I stripped until I stood in just my boxers before jumping into bed. Viola’s eyes meeting mine was the last thing I thought about before I was out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Lucky Charms Don't Make You Lucky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton tells Viola about his summer plans.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Vi?” Colton called from the front door before coming straight in to sit next to me at the kitchen table. His eyes were wide with excitement.<br/>“What’s with you?” I tried to ask around a mouthful of cereal.<br/>“I’m going to Palm Springs in two weeks!” he exclaimed loudly. That was weird. His family usually went to Aspen or New York.<br/>“You’re parents want to go to Palm Springs?” I asked, confused. I couldn’t imagine the two stiffest people I knew vacationing with college kids. He shook his head.<br/>“No. Hannah invited me to go with her and a few other couples,” he explained and I forced my expression to mirror his as he continued, “We’re going to be down there for two whole weeks to just have fun before college.”<br/>I struggled not to choke on my lunch at this revelation. He was leaving for two weeks? With Hannah? In Palm Springs? Images of them together flashed, unwanted, in my head. But I couldn’t let it show.<br/>“That’s great! It definitely beats laying around here all summer,” I responded, trying to laugh through the twisting of my stomach. It came out half-strangled.<br/>“Anyways, I know you have to go to work, but I just wanted to tell you first. You wanna hang out after your shift is- Wait, no. Hannah wanted me to go out with everyone tonight. You could come, too, if you want,” he suggested, laughing when my face scrunched up in distaste. He knew socializing with strangers wasn't exactly a good time in my book.<br/>“Yeah, not your thing. I get it. Maybe we could hang out tomorrow,” he offered and I nodded around another mouth full of food. He got up, laughing. “You and those Lucky Charms. It's supposed to be eaten at breakfast time, Vi, not noon,” he muttered, chuckling the whole way out the door.<br/>I let my shoulders sag when I didn’t have to pretend to be happy anymore. Well there goes my mood for the day.<br/>I poured the milk down the drain and placed my bowl in the dishwasher before kicking it closed and going upstairs to change into my work clothes. I pulled the pre-arranged pile out of my drawer: Black pants, blue polo, name tag.<br/>I grabbed my purse and phone off my dresser and trudged down the stairs to my car. I’d had the last week off so going now felt so much worse. I turned “Snap Out of It” on and tried to get in a better mood. Forget that Colton’s leaving. Just enjoy the time you have left. I could do that. I would do that.<br/>The music cut off as I got out of the car and I’d been able to talk myself into a much better mood. Waiting tables with Ally was like riding a bike. Even though it’d been a week, I was kicking ass and taking orders.<br/>The six hour shift passed quickly and, before I knew it, it was 6:00. I pocketed my tips(60 bucks thanks to great turnover) and headed to the parking lot, waving by to my boss, Benny.<br/>I started the car and winced at the noise it made. It seemed to be getting worse. Oh, well. How bad could it be? I switched from Arctic Monkeys to Linkin Park and started singing along to ‘Numb’.<br/>I went straight to the shower when I got home, washing the diner off of me. I looked around my room for something else to do and my eyes landed on the Playstation in the corner of the room.<br/>I hadn’t played in awhile and I eagerly flipped through all my games. I settled on a Finding Nemo game. I put it in and grabbed a controller. The narrative came on and I had to navigate Nemo every which way to find things hidden in the reef. It was a child’s game but I didn’t care.<br/>By the time I’d gotten to level 11 it was pitch black outside. I braided my hair and snuggled in under my covers, wearing a pink nightgown I’d bought once I’d finally been brave enough to go into Victoria’s Secret. I think her secret was that she was a slut.<br/>The next month had a more or less set schedule. Every day, work from noon to six or from nine to two. Then come home and hang out with Colton or Ally or both. I only saw James in passing and with the occasional glance through the window.<br/>I rarely gave him a thought anymore. It was mostly when Ally talked about how hot he was and I couldn’t help but agree. He was tall, dark, and handsome.<br/>Then again, my lack of thinking of him may have been because every day got closer to when Colton was going to go on vacation with his girlfriend. The thought was always there, even if I was thinking about something else entirely.<br/>The night before he left, Colton turned in early, claiming he needed to be rested for tomorrow. I forced my mind to make that mean he would be tired from the airport and not whatever he was going to do with Hannah.<br/>He gave me a light goodbye hug and I managed to let out a passable ‘have fun’, watching as he walked out the front door. That’d be the last time I saw him for half a month.<br/>I went back into the kitchen to clean up that mess that was our dinner and looked out the window into the backyard. It was a decent size but the only thing out there was my childhood swing set.<br/>All three swings were moving lightly in the wind and I remembered back to when Colton first moved in. We used them all the time, just two kids playing. Now I had these stupid feelings and all I wanted to do was be that kid again. The swing set looked so lonely now.<br/>Before I knew what I was doing, I was in the backyard in front of it. The forward and back motion it made looked very attractive right then and I sat down for the first time in years.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Swings Aren't Meant Last Forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James finds Viola sitting alone after Colton leaves and tries to cheer her up.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey I just wanted to say bye. I’m leaving tomorrow, probably before you get up,” Colton said, poking his head through the door. Not once in the month I'd been here had he knocked before entering.<br/>“Bye. Have fun with whoever it is that’s going,” I deadpanned. He started listing off the names and I gave a look that meant I didn’t really care.<br/>“See you in two weeks,” he sighed as he left.<br/>We’d never been the closest of cousins but, since the fight over Viola, he’d been even more distant. I’d made an effort, though. I’d stayed away from her, not even looking out the window at night. It’d been a month and we hadn’t had a conversation that went farther than ‘hey’.<br/>Fuck it. Nothing I did was going to make him happy so I might as well do what I wanted. I stood up to look out the window. Her lights were off so I couldn’t see inside but there was movement from the backyard. Possibly her.<br/>I didn’t say anything to Nancy when I passed her in the living room, instead going straight out the door and around the side of the house.<br/>Viola was sitting on a small swing set, looking at the ground as she moved back and forth. It was the saddest I’d seen her.<br/>Not taking time to think about my actions, I strode over to sit with her, one swing in between us. She looked up when she heard the groan of the wood under my weight, but I was sure it’d be fine. The guys that made these made sure they were sturdy so they didn’t get sued if some kid died. Probably.<br/>“What are you doing?” she asked, long eyebrows pulling in.<br/>“I figured you might want someone to talk to. You look a little… blue,” I explained, unsure. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing out here. I just wanted to talk to her.<br/>“I don’t have anything to talk about,” she lied poorly, looking away.<br/>“What about Colton?” I guessed, getting straight to the point. I held her gaze when her eyes snapped to mine. “About him leaving... with Hannah,” her eyes were huge and turned pained at the last part.<br/>“Did Ally tell you?” she asked quietly before her lips parted in horror. “Did Colton tell you? Oh my God, does he know?” she gasped, voice getting higher with each word.<br/>“Chill out. He doesn’t know anything,” I reassured her.<br/>“Then how…?” she wondered.<br/>“I've always been good at reading people. I figured it out at your graduation party. The way you looked at him. The way his girlfriend looked at you,” I explained with a shrug. She let out a shaky breath, settling back into her sad swinging.<br/>“I just… It’s difficult to picture the both of them in Palm Beach together,” she murmured, apparently ready to talk. I heard the pain in her voice and felt an overwhelming urge to soothe her, to take the sadness away. <br/>“Just think of this as a practice run for when you leave. An experiment. See how you do being away from him. Maybe find some coping mechanism before fall semester,” I suggested. She looked at me dubiously.<br/>“You really think that’ll work?” she asked with a small smile.<br/>“Maybe,” I shrugged, “Maybe not. But it beats sitting alone on a swing set and feeling miserable.”<br/>This time she gave a short laugh before sniffling. “I guess that’s true,” she admitted, “I guess I’ll try to see it as just a trial run. But that’s something for tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to sit here and feel miserable.”<br/>“Nope,” I said firmly and she blinked up at me in surprise, “I came out here to make you feel better and, damnit, I’m going to make you feel better. It’s time for a game,” I pondered what to do for a moment before deciding. “We’re going to have a swing off,” I ordered, unable to keep from grinning.<br/>“A what?” she asked, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.<br/>“You sit on that swing, I’ll sit on this one. We go as high as we can and see who can jump out the farthest,” I explained with a challenging grin.<br/>“What? No!” she protested, throwing her hands up, “You’re way taller than me. You could probably step off the swing now and land farther away than I could jump!”<br/>“That’s quitter talk,” I argued, though she was probably right, “Anyone could win.”<br/>“Fine,” she rolled her eyes and started pumping her legs to gain momentum. I did the same.<br/>We got to the point that we were swinging almost parallel to the earth. I looked at her. “One, Two-”<br/>I didn’t get to three because on the last downward swing one of the chains broke on my swing and landed me straight on my ass. Pain shot from my tailbone to my spine. I groaned. Fuck.<br/>I sat up and she was standing about four feet in front of the swing set, laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach. She looked like she was trying to speak but she kept getting interrupted by her own laughter.<br/>“Three!” she finally gasped, laughing even harder at her joke. I rolled my eyes and winced a little as I stood, but I found myself biting back a smile at her infectious giddiness.<br/>“I guess you were right, anyone could’ve won,” she teased, still giggling as she walked back to me. I brushed dirt off the back of my jeans and looked at her in faux skepticism.<br/>“You know, your joy at my expense makes me think you might have hijacked my swing,” I accused teasingly.<br/>“Nope. That was just the universe giving me a pick me up,” she responded, still smiling. I finally let myself smile back and shoved her playfully. She shoved me back with about as much force as a kitten. I laughed when her push had no effect.<br/>“Alright, Moretti. Are you feeling better? Did my pain amuse you enough?” I asked dryly and she bit back a smile, nodding.<br/>“Then go back inside and no more sad swings. If you ever get on the swings again you better actually be swinging,” I told her, walking backwards to the Barton’s. I flashed her a smile when she nodded and walked through the back door.<br/>I woke up the next day to the front door being slammed. I checked my alarm clock and groaned at how early I’d been woken up. I rolled out of bed, never having had the ability to fall back asleep. I called down the stairs for Nancy and Bryan but neither answered.<br/>They must’ve wanted to drive their baby to the airport. Whatever, it left me with an empty house that really needed to be filled with sound.<br/>I plugged in my guitar and turned up the volume, starting out with Fluorescent Adolescent. I started rocking out and even started singing the lyrics.<br/>“You used to get it in your fishnets. Now you only get it in your night dress,” I sang, continuing to play. I was sweating before I even finished and I stopped after the final “Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness.”<br/>So I was very surprised when I heard someone singing a soprano, “Landed in a very common crisis,” after I had quit playing. I spun around to see if maybe Viola could’ve been the one that knew an Arctic Monkeys song, but her light was off and her room was empty. Damn.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. I Love Rock 'n' Roll</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola learns a couple new things about James as she gets ready for work.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard an Arctic Monkeys song come from Colton’s house. Did someone suddenly start listening to rock? Then I’d turned and saw that nobody was listening to it. No, James was playing it and singing along with amazing vocals. And no shirt.<br/>
Knowing he couldn’t hear me over the guitar, I started singing along with him. I loved singing along with live music, even though I was terrified to sing in front of other people. The only reason Allison knew I was good was because I’d started singing in the shower at her house once.<br/>
Then James stopped and I was so caught up in my own singing that I hadn’t even noticed. I ran downstairs as soon as I saw his head start turning. He couldn’t know I liked rock music. He’d look at me funny, just like everyone else. Even if we shared a love of rock, he'd think it was strange that someone like me liked that music.<br/>
“I’m glad the new boy shut off that music of his. The noise was awful. I can’t believe anybody finds that enjoyable to listen to,” Mom commented as she made breakfast for me. Pancakes, bacon, and eggs. She was really getting her act together.<br/>
“Yep, it’s... awful,” I lied, loving the energy that only came from listening to rock and singing along. The head banging didn’t hurt either. It was fun.<br/>
“I know! I mean, find music where you can actually hear the song over the instruments,” she continued, shaking her head and digging into her pancakes.<br/>
I started shovelling eggs into my mouth so I didn’t have to answer. Bashing my favorite genre of music felt sacreligious. She seemed fine to eat in silence and that was good enough for me.<br/>
After I’d cleaned my plate, I put it in the dishwasher and pocketed my keys. I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek as I left the house to go to work.<br/>
Ally kept asking what I was thinking whenever my mind would wander and I had to tell her I was just tired. After all, I couldn’t very well admit to watching James playing the guitar with no shirt, she’d be talking about it for the rest of the day.<br/>
On our way to the parking lot, Ally suddenly asked, “Are you doing okay with Colton being gone with her?”<br/>
It wasn’t until then that I realized I hadn’t thought of Colton all day. I’d been consumed by James’ morning activities. Now that I did, I felt the pain of the loss like a stab to the heart.<br/>
“I’m surviving. It’s going to be a long two weeks,” I sighed as I reached my car. She gave me a sympathetic look.<br/>
“Don’t think about it too hard,” was her solution. Yeah, because it’d be that easy.<br/>
The next two days passed much the same. I listened to rock in the car. I missed Colton. I went to work. I missed Colton. I came home. I missed Colton.<br/>
I was drowning in missing him by day three when I turned my key in the ignition.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Knight In Shining Combat Boots</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola's car breaks down and James gives her a ride to work.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A horrible sound greeted my ears to wake me up. It was the sound of an engine dying. And again. And again. Somebody was ruining their car. I jerked out of bed, only bothering to put sweatpants on, before running out of the house.<br/>
“Viola! Viola, stop trying to turn the car on!” I yelled through the window when I saw it was her old VW Bug that was making the God-awful noise.<br/>
She finally stopped trying and I stepped back so she could get out of the car.<br/>
“What’s wrong? What’d I do?” she asked, panicked in response to my panic. I worked to calm myself down.<br/>
“I don’t know yet,” I told her truthfully. I’d have to take a look under the hood first. “But I do know that every time your engine makes that sound, it gets damaged.”<br/>
“Well I can’t just not turn her on!” she exclaimed, and I held back my smile. She'd animated her car.<br/>
“Trust me, she’s not going to start today,” I told her, amused but serious.<br/>
“I have to go to work!” she almost yelled, panicky again.<br/>
“Wait, you work?” I asked, incredulous. I’d thought this neighborhood was full of rich kids that didn’t need to work.<br/>
“No, James, I wear black pants in the summer because it’s so comfortable,” she replied scathingly, and I finally took notice of her outfit. Black pants. Polo. Name tag. Yep, she worked. Who would’ve thought Colton’s best friend would work?<br/>
“Why? I mean, isn’t everyone in this neighborhood-” I started.<br/>
“Now is not the time for my life story!” she interrupted hastily, checking her watch, “I have to be at work in seven minutes!”<br/>
“Fine. How about I drive you to work?” I offered to get her to calm the fuck down, though I did admire her work ethic. She looked from her watch to her car and finally at me before giving in.<br/>
“Okay, okay. Just drive fast,” she ordered as she rushed to the passenger side of my car and I realized I was lucky enough to have put on the pants that had my keys in them. I unlocked my Mustang and she got in quickly, me following behind.<br/>
“Do you know anything about cars?” she asked anxiously as we pulled out of the neighborhood. I wanted to laugh. Knowing about cars was how I’d been able to put a roof over my head. And my dad's...<br/>
“Yeah, I know a little,” I responded, sensing the direction this conversation was going. “Wait, where do you work?” I asked, realizing I had no clue where I was going.<br/>
“Benny’s” she answered before continuing, “Do you think you could find out what’s wrong with my car?”<br/>
“I can try,” I shrugged. I didn’t know why I was trying to hide my skill. I hadn’t come across an issue with a car that I couldn’t figure out. I was already pretty sure she had a timing belt problem.<br/>
“Can you do it while I’m at work today?” she pleaded and I looked over to see her giving me an overdone puppy face. I laughed as her lower lip jutted out.<br/>
“Yeah, I think I can pencil it in,” I agreed easily. It wasn’t like I had plans and it might actually be fun to see what was under the rusted hood. “Do you need me to pick you up?” I asked, feeling kind of like a mix of chauffeur and boyfriend, which was strange seeing as how I was neither.<br/>
“No, I can just ask Ally to drop me off,” she said flippantly, and I was uncomfortable with how disappointed I was.<br/>
I was supposed to be staying away from this girl for Colton’s sake. But here I was driving her to work without even putting on a shirt. I shifted in my seat with the sudden realization of my nudity under her gaze.<br/>
“Yeah, okay. So I’ll try to figure out what’s wrong with the VW and let you know what you need to do,” I said as we entered Benny's parking lot. She gave thanks and hopped out, running into the diner.<br/>
I put the car back in drive and wondered what I was doing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Timing Belts and Con Men</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James and Viola figure out what's wrong with her car and what needs to be done to fix it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why am I giving you a ride home?" Ally asked skeptically. I sighed. She would totally take this the wrong way.<br/>"Because my car wasn't there," I explained simply.<br/>"And why-" she started to pry.<br/>"Because it broke down today and James drove me," I interrupted before she could continue her questioning. The look in her eyes made me wish I'd taken James up on his offer to drive me home.<br/>"Yes! The older, hotter guy that's living next door gave you a ride? That's fabulous. It's the start of a summer romance movie!" she gushed and I rolled my eyes. The romance movies she liked so much were definitely not my thing.<br/>"No, it's not," I groaned, "because I'm still in love with Colton, in case you forgot."<br/>"Colton-Shmolton. James is so much hotter," she scoffed, waving her hand dismissively and veering slightly off the road.<br/>"Oh my God, Ally. Both hands on the wheel! I swear, I put my life on the line every time I get into a car with you," I grumbled and she just laughed, swerving slightly again. I thanked Heaven when we pulled into the neighborhood safely then cursed Hell when she stopped the car in front of my driveway.<br/>James was looking at my car like he said he would and my mind instantly flashed back to when I thought he had a porn star's body. Bending over my car engine with dirty hands, glistening with sweat, he could literally walk onto a porno set in an auto shop. I would be the girl who had no money and was searching for some way to repay him...<br/>So lost was I in thought, I didn't even notice Ally rolling my window down. I did, however, hear the whistle and catcall that caused James to turn around and look at us. I slid down further in my seat and covered my face with my hand before grabbing my purse and getting out.<br/>"See you tomorrow, Vi," she lilted suggestively, winking. I watched her Mini-Coup drive away until it disappeared. Tomorrow would consist of her talking about James and me and everything that just happened. Maybe I should just quit.<br/>"Viola?" James called, getting my attention again. I turned and saw him put his hand up to his forehead to block the sun. He was smiling, thank God.<br/>"Hey, sorry for her," I apologized, jerking my thumb in Allison's general direction.<br/>"It's fine. I've been called worse," he joked and I wondered how many times he looked yummy enough to eat. Wait, what? Did I just think that?<br/>"So, do you know what's wrong with my car?" I asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject. He turned back to Lucy and closed her hood.<br/>"Yeah, I think so," he replied, simultaneously wiping his hands on a dirty rag. "Have you ever had any engine parts replaced?" He questioned almost accusatory.<br/>"Um, no," I gulped, "Was I supposed to? I thought the engine was just the engine."<br/>He pressed his lips tightly together like he was trying to keep himself from smiling. "Yeah, an engine has to be maintained, Viola. Your timing belt snapped and that's why your car has been misfiring."<br/>"English, please," I demanded, needing a clarification on the shop talk. Did she need to be hospitalized? Was it something I could fix? Was it something he could fix?<br/>"The thing that makes the engine work is broken," he said simply. So that meant it wasn't something I could just ignore, like the weird sounds it'd made.<br/>"But... what does that mean for Lucy?" I asked, feeling ridiculous tears about to rise. She was my first and only car. My baby. I'd bought her with my own hard-earned money. Plus, I couldn't afford to buy another before I went to LA.<br/>"You just have to replace the belt," he shrugged. The words were innocent enough but he looked away when he said it and his voice was off.<br/>"What? What is it? Is the timing belt really expensive or something?" I asked dreadfully.<br/>"No, it's only about 50 bucks. It's just... a mechanic's going to charge you about 500 dollars to fix it," he grimaced.<br/>"What?! 500 dollars? That's crazy! Just because a stupid belt broke? That's ridiculous! Why is it so much?" I ranted, frustrated at life. Mechanics were such con men. I bet they knew how to do something easily and charged out the wazoo because nobody else knew how to do it.<br/>"It just takes time and skill to change it out and mechanics charge by the hour. But um..." he trailed off. Was he blushing under that tan?<br/>"What?" I insisted.<br/>"If you want, I can do it. No charge," he offered, flooring me. Didn't he say he only knew a little about cars? But he'd also said it was hard to do?<br/>"Can you do it?" I asked, not really caring if he was able to or not. If he didn't try, she'd be dead. If he tried and failed, she'd be dead. So if she was gonna die, I'd rather it be after trying.<br/>"Yeah. I've... done it before," he shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back against Lucy's hood and looking at his hands.<br/>"For who? You said you knew 'a little bit' about cars," I pointed out, putting my fingers up to form quotation marks.<br/>"Maybe I just didn't wanna brag? Did you think of that? But, I mean, if you want to pay 500 bucks for a mechanic to do it, be my guest," he teased, pushing off to walk back to Colton's house.<br/>"Wait," I called and he paused, "No charge?" I felt a little guilty for focusing on the money aspect. Everyone else in this neighborhood wouldn't have that problem, but I wasn't lucky enough to be them.<br/>"Well, I'm not paying for the new belt, but I'll replace it for free, yeah," he specified with a shrug. I smiled. This was the first nice thing someone had done for me in a long time.<br/>"Actually, I will ask for something in return," he recanted, and my smile faltered. So much for someone giving me something.<br/>"What do you want?" I inquired warily, getting dangerously close to the porn scenario I had imagined.<br/>"You have to be the jack," he said simply, the same way he'd told me what my engine problem was. I didn't understand what he said now, either.<br/>"What's a jack?" I asked, somewhat impatiently. It was hot and I was wearing black pants. If he was going to keep confusing me with car terms, we were going to have to take the conversation indoors.<br/>"You have to sit there with me while I work and hand me the tools I need," he explained. Oh. I guess I could do that. All he was asking for was my time, not my money. Plus, it'd be something to take my mind off of Colton.<br/>"Okay," I agreed easily, "But I work six hours a day every day. Except Sunday. And sometimes I pick up extra shifts when I need to."<br/>"That's fine. It should only take about eight hours," he reassured me. Eight hours helping this guy fix my car? Not too much of a sacrifice. I wondered if he'd look like this every day...? I shook off the thought.<br/>"What do you want me there for, anyways? If you couldn't tell, cars are a little outside my realm of expertise," I asked, honestly curious. I was pretty sure I'd only slow him down.<br/>"For company," he answered with a shrug, "It gets kind of boring around here not having anyone to talk to." Damn, I felt bad for him. I still didn't know why he was here, but it was clear that the only person he really knew had just flown off to Florida.<br/>"Cool. Well, when do you wanna start?" I asked. The sooner my baby got fixed the better, "Can we start today? I don't have anything else to do."<br/>"We don't have the belt, yet, so no. But we can get online and find one today," he compromised. "Well, more like I could find one since you probably wouldn't know what to look for," he corrected. I would've thought that was some sort of misogynistic thing if it weren't for the fact that he'd been made aware of how little I knew.<br/>"Okay, let's go. But can we just look for a shop that sells them and drive there? I don't want to have to be driven around for seven to ten workdays if we order it online," I asked as I moved to walk inside, beckoning him to follow.<br/>"Sure, if we can find one. I can't promise we will, though. Your car is kind of old," he warned behind me. I walked through the living room until I got to the family computer. I pressed a button and it hummed to life, showing a background of me, mom, and dad.<br/>I pressed the internet explorer icon and moved so James could sit in front of the screen. I had no clue what I was looking for. He did a vague search for auto shops within a 40 mile radius, then turned to me.<br/>"Okay go out to your car and there should be a piece of paper in the glove box that is full of words you probably don't understand. I need that," he instructed, smiling when I frowned at his teasing.<br/>I walked back outside, instantly seeing the informative papers. Huh, I'd always wondered what those were for. He looked them over before entering my specific vehicle information in. We got lucky when a shop thirty miles away showed that it had the correct part for 35 dollars.<br/>"Let's go," I said, grabbing my keys out of my purse before remembering I wasn't the one driving. I sighed and put them back, grabbing my purse instead. James had strode past me out the door, his long legs moving a lot faster than mine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Definitely Not A Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James and Viola get food and get to know each other better.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When we got done at the auto shop, Viola and I both decided we were sufficiently hungry, so we stopped at an iHop. It wasn't a date. We just stopped for lunch. It wasn't a date. Right.<br/>"So how do you know about this stuff anyways?" she asked after we were seated at a booth by a waiter who's eyes lingered on Viola for what I thought was an unnecessary amount of time.<br/>"Car stuff? My dad taught me since forever and then I started working as a mechanic when I was sixteen. By the time I graduated they'd been letting me do stuff like change timing belts. If you didn't already know, that's a big deal. Not exactly a DIY project," I added, and her eyebrows pulled in.<br/>"You worked?" she seemed as surprised as I had been when I found out she worked. What a reversal of roles.<br/>"Yeah, I worked. I worked hard, too. Somebody had to pay the bills..." I trailed off when my words started going in an uncomfortable direction. "Why are you so surprised?"<br/>"It's just that… Colton's never worked a day in his life, so I sort of assumed his family wouldn't have to, either," she muttered, blushing slightly, "I guess I'm being a little hypocritical, huh? Getting irritated at you for being surprised that I had a job and then turning around and doing the same thing."<br/>The waiter came back and gave us our drinks, causing us both to sit back from where we'd started leaning forward on the table.<br/>"Yeah, definitely hypocritical," I agreed with a smile. "And I'm sorry for being so surprised at you working. The people in your neighborhood tend to be, um, well off?" I explained, trying to find the polite way to say snobby rich people. She half laughed.<br/>"I was never as well off as people like Colt, but we could live in the neighborhood without having to work ourselves to death when I was younger. Now, my mom and I have to work hard so we don't lose the house my... The house I grew up in," she explained. I could understand that. I hadn't wanted to have to move out of the house I grew up in. But things like mortgages hadn't seemed important to Dad.<br/>"But you still seem happy. And outgoing. I'm sure what Colton was talking about with that, by the way. You've never seemed that quiet around me," I pointed out. I'd been wondering about it since day one.<br/>"No he was totally right. I never talk to people I don't know. I'm not comfortable being the one to initiate conversation. I have no clue as to why I can talk to you so easily," she said, looking up at me openly, black hair starting to fall out of a messy bun.<br/>"I guess I just naturally bring it out in you," I responded cockily. "That should make you want to be my jack. It's healthy to explore the different parts of your personality. Especially before college. It sucks," I told her, wishing I'd gotten my head screwed on straight before I went.<br/>"I don't think so. I think I'm going to love college. I don't know if you know, but I'm going to a film college for art. I'm going to major in animation and minor in graphic design," she gushed, a slightly smug expression on her face.<br/>"Do you want to make Disney movies someday?" I asked, amused. She'd be loaded if she did.<br/>She rolled her eyes at me. "No, I want to design video games. Do the artwork for them and stuff like that," she explained, looking up at the waiter as he came back to take our orders. I wasn't really paying attention and so I just mumbled something about a burger.<br/>What I was really focused on was that she wanted to spend the rest of her life MAKING VIDEO GAMES. I didn't know if I could think of a profession hotter than that. I made sure I had my expression under control by the time the waiter left and she faced me again.<br/>"So what kind of games do you want to make?" I continued, and she blushed, igniting my curiosity.<br/>"I don't wanna say," she replied quickly before taking a drink of lemonade. Why wouldn't she want to tell me?<br/>"What? Why not?" I asked, disappointed.<br/>"Because I don't know you well enough, yet," she answered, and I sat back, confused. Maybe I could figure it out a different way.<br/>"Do you play video games?" I questioned and she nodded around her straw. If I knew what games she played, it'd probably be easy to guess what she wanted to make.<br/>"Which ones?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could. She smiled like she knew what I was doing.<br/>"Nope. Not telling you. It's between me and my PlayStation," she said and I grimaced. Playstation? She gamed on a Playstation? And here I thought she was perfect.<br/>"What's that look for?" she questioned defensively.<br/>"Seriously? Playstation? That's your go-to? XBox is so much better," I started, shaking my head in disappointment and leading the way to a debate that lasted throughout lunch and all the way until we got back to the house.<br/>"Alright, alright. This could go on all night. Let's just agree to disagree," I suggested, getting out of the car with the new timing belt. She got out and looked at me when I spoke again.<br/>"Good. Now, do I need to take you to work tomorrow?" I asked.<br/>"If it isn't too much to ask. It's just that my mom teaches summer school and Ally'd have to drive out of her way..." she started, over-explaining the situation.<br/>"It's fine, Viola," I stopped her, "Just tell me what time."<br/>"Nine o'clock. I work the morning shift again," she sighed, wringing her hands together nervously.<br/>"Alright. We can start work on the car tomorrow," I replied, shutting the driver's side door.<br/>"I'll see you then," she called as I walked to the house, waving over my shoulder as she walked the opposite direction.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Don't Judge a Man By His Music</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola gets a little heated when her mom starts talking bad about James.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Viola?" Mom called from the kitchen, "Is that you?"<br/>"Yeah," I answered as I walked towards her voice. When I got to her I immediately wished I hadn't. Bills were all over the kitchen table. Damn, I'd forgotten that was today. And I'd just spent most of my tip money on a new timing belt and lunch.<br/>"Hi, honey," she greeted, looking up from an envelope. "You know that I hate to ask you for help, but I'm a little short this month," she admitted, looking so guilty I couldn't be irritated.<br/>"I don't have anything today. Lucy broke down and I spent most of my tip money on a replacement part. That's where I've been in case you were wondering," I added dryly. I'd been gone hours and hadn't gotten a single message asking where I was.<br/>"A new part?" she questioned, "What was broken?"<br/>"Something called a timing belt. Apparently it helps valves do something or another," I shrugged, unable to remember what the importance of it was.<br/>"Do you know how much it would cost to take it to a mechanic?" she asked.<br/>"About 500 dollars," I quoted James' estimate.<br/>"500? Honey, I'm sorry but we don't have 500 dollars to fix her," she responded sympathetically, looking at the bills that were still unpaid.<br/>"About that..." I started, "I think I found a way to fix her for free..."<br/>"And how do you plan on doing that?" she asked skeptically, raising one delicate eyebrow.<br/>"Well, the guy that's living with Colton was a mechanic back in Washington. He said he'd do it for free if I wanted," I explained, surprised when her frown deepened.<br/>"The boy that's always wearing black and playing that rock music too loud?" she asked, obvious distaste coloring her tone.<br/>"Yeah..." I replied hesitantly.<br/>"I don't want you hanging around with him. He seems like bad news," she ordered in a firm tone.<br/>"Bad news? He drove me to work today when my car broke down, figured out what was wrong with it, and helped me drive to get the part I needed!" I defended James, standing up before continuing, "Now he's offered to fix my car -for free- and drive me to work while my car is out of commission. He couldn't be better news, Mom!" I yelled, storming out of the room to go upstairs, ignoring her calling me back.<br/>The nerve! She was going to judge him based on his looks and taste in music? Seriously? I couldn't even think of a time he'd been anything close to bad. Hell, he'd gone out of his way to comfort me when I was depressed on the swing set. Granted, he broke one of them, but still. My anger felt like it might explode out of me at any moment, so I grabbed my sketchbook and a piece of charcoal.<br/>As soon as the media touched the paper I felt a palpable release of tension from my shoulders. This was my version of yoga. I barely paid attention to what I was drawing, just letting my feelings out. After about an hour of sketching, I came away with a pretty accurate portrait of Colton. He calmed me.<br/>I shook out my hand where it had gotten cramped and put the materials back in their respective places before padding off to the shower. James really was a good guy. I could easily see him being a friend.<br/>I thought back to how he said I'd have at least one friend in LA and smiled. I would, wouldn't I?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Start of Something New</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James drives Viola to work before getting into a fight with his aunt and leaving. He goes to Viola and talks before they start working on the car, using the time to get to know each other better.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jame's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The alarm clock next to my started screeching for the first time this summer. I slammed my palm down on it until it shut up, wondering why the Hell it was even set. Oh, right. I had to get Viola to work by 9:00.<br/>I rolled out of bed, wiping a hand over my face to deter the sleepiness. I picked out a grey t-shirt and pulled it over my head, doing the same with a pair of jeans. Feeling lazy, I decided to go with just flip flops instead of working to put on boots.<br/>I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair before I was ready to go downstairs. The whole process had only taken about five minutes. Why on Earth did it take Colton hours to get ready?<br/>I had to wait a few minutes next to my car before Viola came outside, looking at her car mournfully before walking to me. She had on her little work uniform but her hair was braided down her back today.<br/>"Hey," I greeted after we were both in the car.<br/>"Hey. Thank you for doing this, again," she replied as I backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the road.<br/>"It's no big deal, Benny's isn't that far away," I assured her, turning right onto Main Street.<br/>"No," she mumbled, looking down at her hands. "Not just the ride. You're going to fix my car for free for some reason and you were super nice the other night. I don't know why you're doing it but thank you," she continued softly.<br/>"Don't forget that I also didn't sue you for the whole swing thing," I reminded her in a teasing tone, "I had a bruise on my ass the next morning."<br/>She laughed at my joking, seeming more comfortable now that the atmosphere was lighter. "Oh, yeah, because how could I lose that lawsuit? It wasn't like you weighed 300 pounds and decided to hard-core swing on a child's swing set," she said sarcastically.<br/>"300? Damn, woman, how big do you think I am?" I scoffed in faux offense.<br/>"Well you're pretty tall and, er, ... well built?" she said it like it was a question as she gestured to my muscles.<br/>"So you noticed, huh? Have you been checking me out?" I joked, liking to believe she had been.<br/>She blushed and looked away. "So, um, we're getting close, right?" She changed the subject, voice an octave higher than usual. I chuckled at her embarrassment.<br/>"Yeah, we're getting close," I assured her, chuckling again as I turned into Benny's parking lot. She opened the door a fraction of a second before the car stopped.<br/>"So, um," she started quickly, flipping a strand of hair back out of her face, "I'll see you later to work on the car, okay? Okay, bye." She left no room for me to answer as she turned her back and walked stiffly to work. I laughed again as I put the car in drive and left the parking lot. It was weirdly fun to make her blush.<br/>I got back and went upstairs and put on my headphones. I clicked my rock Pandora station and leaned back against the bed to relax. I should probably actually go back to sleep. It wouldn't be helpful to be sleep deprived working on the car later.<br/>My eyes opened with a start when I heard the front door slam closed. I immediately looked down to check the time. Was Viola off work yet? I relaxed when I realized I had two hours left until I had to be ready to work.<br/>I pulled my headphones off and set them aside. Front door closing meant empty house, right? 'Suck It and See' was stuck in my head and I picked up my guitar to play it out. I elected not to sing aloud and, instead, focus on getting the sound perfect. All of a sudden my door was being opened and Nancy walked in. So that's where Colton learned to not knock.<br/>"James O' Connor will you please stop playing those songs?" Nancy yelled and my hands paused on the guitar.<br/>"What's up, Nancy?" I questioned dully, taking in her pantsuit and perfect bun.<br/>"That guitar is way too loud for you to be playing something that's just noise!" she ranted, actually wagging her finger in my direction.<br/>"What is the matter with you all?" I yelled, seeing Bryan standing behind her, "This is music just like any other music! In my opinion, this music is better than any other music."<br/>"No it's not. I'm tired of hearing this every time I come home. It makes it hard for me to think and I have work to do," she snapped, hands going to her hips as her toe started tapping against the hardwood.<br/>"What do you want me to do, huh? There is nothing else in this place. I've been bored out of my mind for the past month," I defended.<br/>"Why don't you go outside and make friends?" she gestured outside.<br/>"I'm not Colton, okay? I don't fit in with the people around here," refuted, making the same gesture.<br/>"Fine. If you won't go out and talk to people, then you have to just stop playing that God awful music. We can deal with the video game noise, but an electric guitar is too much," she said sternly. I wanted to continue to yell at her. Her perfect mom hair and her pantsuit. But I didn't. Instead, I pushed past her and walked straight to my car.<br/>I didn't even care what the songs were that I turned on, as long as they were loud. I drove around, going nowhere, for the better part of an hour, before realizing I hadn't eaten anything. Unthinkingly, I turned straight into Benny's parking lot and got out.<br/>I went inside to sit at the 50's style counter and put my head in my hands. I heard a familiar voice in front of me and looked up.<br/>"Hey there!" Ally said excitedly. "Wait, don't tell me. James, right?" She 'guessed'. I nodded with a half smile. Her energy was distracting me from all my issues with being in this tiny town.<br/>"Hey Ally, thanks for taking Viola home yesterday," I said a little awkwardly, remembering what she'd said once she got there, "I'd offered but she said you'd do it."<br/>"Trust me, I'm glad I did," she responded, giving me a quick once over. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.<br/>"Ally!" we both turned to see Viola walking over, glaring at Ally while Ally gave her an innocent look. "Would you quit coming onto him at work!" she scolded her friend. I stifled a laugh.<br/>"Why? You said you weren't-" Ally started before being cut off by a slap to the arm.<br/>"Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing a hand over the sore spot. "You're no fun," she mumbled, stalking off with one final glance at the two of us. Viola turned to me once Ally started taking an order at another table.<br/>"What're you doing here?" she asked curiously. I ignored the question.<br/>"What did you say you weren't going to do?" I questioned, repeating Ally's words. And there it was. Viola blushed again and I smiled.<br/>"Nothing. Just a conversation from earlier. Girl stuff," she responded with a shrug, "So what're you doing here?"<br/>"I was driving around and felt like getting something to eat," I replied honestly.<br/>"Well," she started, digging under the counter before pulling out a menu, "Just let me know when you're ready. You want something to drink?"<br/>"Yeah, I'll have a Pepsi. The Barton's only have Coke and it's just not the same," I sighed, relieved to finally have someone to complain to. She smiled knowingly.<br/>"I know, right? It's been a thirteen year battle between me and Colton. I just can't seem to convince him that Pepsi is better," she agreed, shaking her head before going off to get a cup. A Pepsi girl, too? Did she have any bad qualities? Oh, yeah, her taste in guys. And gaming stations.<br/>"Yeah, it's hard to change his mind about things," I mumbled distractedly as I pretended to look at the menu. Colton reminded me of the Barton's and that reminded me of the ridiculous fight. I glared at the specials.<br/>"Is something wrong?" she asked suddenly, and I looked up to see her standing across from me with an eyebrow cocked.<br/>"What makes you think something's wrong?" I countered. I'd always prided myself on being able to keep a poker face in any situation. This fight wasn't an exception. Or so I thought.<br/>"Well I can't imagine anything on the menu that would make you mad, unless you've got a problem with chicken and waffles?" she joked and I looked down at the menu again. Chicken and waffles? Who on earth would think chicken and waffles sounded good?<br/>"It's a southern thing," she explained, answering my silent question.<br/>"It sounds gross. You're not supposed to combine breakfast and lunch foods," I pointed out confidently.<br/>"You haven't even tried it," she protested, narrowing her eyes before they became speculative. "How about this. You order the chicken and waffles and, if you like them, you have to tell me what the problem is?" she challenged.<br/>"And if I don't like them?" I countered, "What do I get?"<br/>She seemed to hesitate before powering on.<br/>"What do you want?" she asked warily. Hmm... What did I want? I wanted the Bartons to piss off, but she couldn't very well give me that. I wanted her to not like Colton, but saying that would be weird. I wanted...<br/>"You have to tell me what kind of games you play on that stupid PS3," I answered proudly, seeing regret pass over her face. I would totally win this. I mean, chicken and waffles? Seriously? Her cheeks were red for a moment more before she straightened up and held her chin high.<br/>"It's a PS2, actually," she corrected and I went in to argue again but she cut me off. A PS2? That would be like walking around town with a flip phone- and not the sleek kind. "Fine. I'm confident in the power of chicken and waffles," she said, beaming. It was kind of hot. She gave a quick nod before walking to another patron and giving a very waitress-y smile before refilling his coffee. She wrote down two orders and passed them to the cook before giving a glance my way.<br/>I wasn't really sure why I was taking this bet. Sure, I wanted to know what games she liked, but it also wasn't unpleasant to tell her about the fight. With someone else it might've been, but she never seemed to be like anyone else. Maybe that's why I took it. I'd win either way.<br/>She breezed by me again after a bell sounded along with an 'order up', taking my empty cup as she went. When she came back, she was holding a full cup and chicken tenders stacked on waffles with a toothpick holding them together. It looked weird. Like breakfast and lunch had a baby.<br/> "Eat up," she lilted, gesturing to the plate. I swallowed hard before getting a bite of chicken and a bite of waffles on the same fork and bringing it to my mouth. I frowned at the taste. Damnit. It was good. I didn't know how, but the flavors worked together. The sweet and savory balanced out.<br/>"Nope. Don't like it," I lied smoothly.<br/>"Bullshit!" she retorted, calling me out. "You do, too. I can see it on your face. You lying son of a... gun," she paused before finishing, probably not wanting to say the word bitch too loudly. After all, she worked mainly for tips.<br/>"I'm not lying," I countered, my stomach grumbling audibly as I looked down at my plate.<br/>"You are too. Now you have to tell me what's wrong," she noted victoriously.<br/>I rolled my eyes. If I kept denying, I wouldn't be able to eat the rest of them like I wanted to. I sighed before giving in and spearing another combo onto my fork.<br/>"It's the Barton's," I admitted before taking a bite. Her eyebrows pulled in the middle and she seemed confused.<br/>"The Barton's are great for the most part. What'd they do?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Only slightly distracting.<br/>"I don't remember if I told you or not, but I play the electric guitar. They don't seem to appreciate 'something that's just noise'," I quoted Nancy, rolling my eyes. She leaned her elbows on the counter.<br/>"Yeah, my mom said the same thing when we heard it playing in our house," she admitted, and I wondered for a second if she would take Nancy's side? That'd be irritating. The only person I talked to in this stupid place wasn't going to empathize.<br/>"So you guys don't want me playing either? C'mon, other than video games, it's all I have. How can you ask-" I started before getting cut off when she put up one delicate hand.<br/>"I said my mom didn't like it. I think it's cool. And you're pretty good, by the way," I'd deny it until the day I died, but my heart warmed a little at her praise.<br/>"Really? I thought you didn't like rock?" I noted, mirroring her position.<br/>"Just because I don't like rock doesn't mean I can't appreciate that you're good. And, by the way, I never specifically stated that I didn't like rock. It's just not something I listen to," she shrugged, leaning away to wipe down an already-clean counter.<br/>"Well, I guess Nancy and Bryan aren't as tolerant as you," I muttered before taking another bite. Her wandering eyes landed on a couple with empty drinks before she gave an apologetic smile and left. On her way out, though, I could've sworn I heard her say 'You have no idea'.<br/>She didn't come back to me until my plate was empty and my drink was gone. But I'd watched her. It seemed that she'd been in charge of running the whole counter and pieces of her braid had come undone by the time I was given my check. The total came out to $7.98. I put a fifteen dollar tip in before giving it back.<br/>I left to go back to the house before she could see how much was inside. When I got back I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to go back inside and have to deal with the Bartons again. In fact, if it were up to me, I'd never go back in. But I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I wondered how Viola would feel about me parking on her couch?<br/>I stepped out of my Mustang and caught sight of the old blue car that would be my next project. In all honesty, she'd be better off just getting a new car. I mean, the belt was the reason it wouldn't start but there were a lot of things that needed renewing as well.<br/>I popped the hood and looked again at the damage. It wasn't too big of a deal for me to do. I'd had to do it a few times back home and hadn't had much trouble. In fact, this problem in particular helped pay some of the bigger bills.<br/>I opened the Barton's garage and rummaged around until I found all the personal mechanic tools I carried around with me. I managed to have everything I needed. I turned when I heard tires pulling into a driveway and saw a familiar white Mini-Cooper come to a stop.<br/>The passenger door opened and Viola stepped out. She looked back at the driver then to me before blushing and slamming the door.<br/>"I'm going to go get changed and then I'll be right back," she told me quickly, pointing to her house before jogging inside. I went into the Barton's house to put on my Mechanic's Outfit. I'd found that wearing a select few clothes when working on cars decreased the amount of new clothes I'd have to buy due to oil stains.<br/>This shirt was a light grey color with a v-neck collar. I put on the corresponding jeans and boots and went back outside. Viola was waiting, leaning over the engine I'd left exposed with interest. She'd changed into jean shorts and a tight green shirt that showed off her figure nicely, and her wild curls had been let loose. She jumped when I came up behind her.<br/>"Whatcha doing?" I asked, smiling at her startled reaction.<br/>"Oh, um, I don't really know," she stuttered, spinning around quickly, "I've actually never looked at a car engine before and it's pretty cool."<br/>"I think so, too. So I was wondering... do you have anything in your garage?" I asked. I'd been thinking about something that'd be kind of problematic. It wouldn't hinder me, but it would suck in general.<br/>"No, why?" she asked flippantly.<br/>"I was just wondering if we could work on it in there, seeing as how it's 3:30 in the middle of summer," I pointed to the sun, which was already beating down on us. She looked up before staring at me again.<br/>"But how? Lucy can't move," she stated.<br/>"I've got it," I started, stepping forward and opening the car door for her, "You get in and put the car in neutral. I'll push from behind and it'll slide in. Once we're in, put it in park."<br/>She walked toward the car with blind trust and I smiled. It was cool to be trusted. Cool to be an expert.<br/>"Okay, go ahead and put it in neutral," I called once I got to the back of the car. It was pretty small so I should've been able to push it myself.<br/>"It's in neutral," she called back, and I started to push. It took a second but the car slowly started moving forward until it was completely inside the cool garage.<br/>"Okay, brake," I huffed, and the little car came to a stop. She hopped out gingerly and turned to where I was taking deep breaths, already sweating through my shirt.<br/>"That was easy," she stated, sitting on an old stool that looked like it was a second away from breaking out from under her. Then again, she probably only weighed ninety pounds. I laughed breathlessly.<br/>"Easy? Okay, next time you get to push," I joked, finally breathing normally again. I left to retrieve my tools as she giggled and agreed.<br/>"So what's first?" she asked before grimacing.<br/>"What's that face for?" I asked skeptically.<br/>"I just realized that I probably won't understand the answer to my question," she explained, resigned.<br/>"Yeah, probably not," I confirmed, thinking of her shocking lack of engine knowledge. I still couldn’t believe she hadn't even known things needed to be replaced -ever. I shook my head at the memory before popping the hood again.<br/>She moved her stool closer to see as I started. We worked in comfortable silence for about 30 minutes, me asking her for certain things here and there, before conversation resumed.<br/>"So why did you go to Los Angeles for school? Isn't it kind of far away from Washington?" she asked curiously and  raised an eyebrow.<br/>"I could ask you the same question. I mean, you're moving to the opposite coast," I pointed out, and she pursed her lips.<br/>"True, but Washington is still far away," she persisted, and I sighed.<br/>"I don't know if you know this or not, but Washington is a little cold. Like, all the time. Los Angeles is always sunny and warm and it's cool to live in a big city. I was really sick of the small town life," I explained, leaving out the bigger reason, like how I wanted to get away from my dad.<br/>"Yeah, I get that," she nodded after a minute, "Seeing the same faces everywhere is kinda irritating. Especially when everyone's families go back generations. Nobody gets to decide who they are. It's all about whose kid you are."<br/>"Is that why you're leaving?" I asked after asking for a combination wrench.<br/>"Among other things," she replied strangely, and the tone of her voice kept me from asking the other reasons. After all, I had reasons she didn't know about, too.<br/>"So, why art?" I questioned, genuinely curious, "It's not the most stable profession to go into." I tried not to make it sound rude, so I was relieved when she let out a small chuckle.<br/>"I know, and you're not the first person to ask that. Ally and Colton are both going into business careers, though Ally isn't going to college, and they can't accept that passion is a reason to do something. Not money," she explained lightly, "And that's 'why art'. It's because I love it and I always have loved it. For me, it's worth the risk. Besides, I'll always have my illustrious waitressing career to fall back on."<br/>It was weirdly hot to see how passionate she was about what she wanted to do.<br/>"It's okay if you agree with them. Most people do," she shrugged indifferently.<br/>"No, I was just wondering why. And that's a Hell of an answer, too. Passion is important. You know what they say: 'If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life'," I quoted, remembering that someone had said that to me. It's actually what made me decide my major.<br/>"So did you follow your artistic side, too? Are you going to school to become a rockstar?" she asked in a teasing tone. Man, I wish.<br/>"Nope. I'm actually majoring in auto mechanical engineering," I told her, "It's what I love to do."<br/>"Engineering?" she asked, and I looked up at her surprised expression. That was a little insulting. Did she not think I was smart enough to be an engineer?<br/>"Well, don't look so surprised," I half-joked.<br/>"I'm sorry. I just never would've guessed you'd want to be an engineer. You seemed to be more..." she trailed off, apparently unable to think of the end of her sentence.<br/>"What? Gen-ed? Don't let the mysterious bad boy look fool you. I got a 4.0 gpa and am on multiple academic scholarships. Besides, an auto mechanical engineer is a fancy way of saying I fix cars but get paid three times more than a mechanic," I clarified.<br/>"Wow, " she paused for so long that I glanced up. Her eyes seemed far away. "That's... impressive. And it makes sense seeing as how you like working with cars," she finished, gesturing to the engine.<br/>And so we talked. She told me about how she got into art and I told her about the differences between high school and college. She seemed to get excited when I told her about how independence felt like a gift instead of a burden. Before I knew it, the two hours of the day were up and my phone was beeping.<br/>"Well, this has been fun," I started, "We can pick up tomorrow after you get off work and do the next two hours worth of work."<br/>"Why couldn't we do it all in one day?" she inquired.<br/>"Well I didn't have the burning desire to work eight hours straight. It might look easy, but it's actually work to get this thing going. That’s why mechanics can charge so much," I explained sarcastically. She ignored it.<br/>"Is that where you got all that bulging muscle?" she joked, glancing down at my chest and arms before quickly looking away and biting down on her lip. I managed to keep myself from smiling.<br/>"Uh, no," I replied, trying to keep my voice light, "That's not where they came from." The slight creasing of her brow was all it took for me to know she'd noticed something off in my voice, and I waited for the followup question. It didn't come.<br/>"Huh," was all she responded before continuing, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."<br/>"Yeah," I paused at her words, "I'll see you tomorrow."<br/>I turned away and left the garage. She'd known I wasn't comfortable talking and so she changed the subject herself. She thought about how her actions affected others. She wasn’t nice.<br/>She was kind.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Just the Girl</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola dreams about Colton, goes to work, and fixes the car with James. Throughout the day, she ponders the new relationship developing between them.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey Vi," Colton said, walking up to give me a kiss on the cheek before pulling back to look at me. I sighed at the sweet gesture.<br/>He was the best boyfriend ever. When he looked at me all lovingly like he was doing now, it made me feel like the most special girl in the world.<br/>"You wanna go inside and watch a movie? Snuggling up with you sounds great right now. I got this new Fast and the Furious from Redbox that you're going to love," he said, asking me on yet another date. I'd lost track of how many we'd been on.<br/>"Sure, I'd love to watch it with you," I replied as brightly as I could. The only thing I hated more than pure action movies were documentaries. But Colton was my boyfriend and he wanted me there with him, so I couldn't say no.<br/>Then he leaned down and kissed me on the lips and I was in some sort of heaven.</p><p> </p><p>I opened my eyes to see my white ceiling. A dream. It'd just been another dream. I really wished I'd stop having those. They made waking up to face the day a whole lot harder. I looked at my alarm clock that read ten o'clock. Two hours until work.<br/>I rolled out of bed and brushed out my hair before pulling it up into a ponytail. I would prefer a messy bun but Benny didn't allow them. Said they didn't look classy enough. Dude, you own a diner, not a five star restaurant.<br/>After I pulled my polo and jeans on, I settled into my chair and picked up my Silver Surfer comic book. It'd been awhile since I really sat down to read one and it was one of my favorite past times. I was halfway through when the alarm on my phone went off. I had to be at work in twenty minutes.<br/>I brushed my teeth quickly before I was down the stairs and out the door. I saw that James was on his way out at the same time and gave him a smile and a wave. He had that smile-nod combination and waved back.<br/>"Hey," he greeted casually, looking at me over the top of his car. To anyone else I'd only known for a few days, I would've barely been able to say 'hey' back before ducking into the cover of the car. But it was James, and I'd always had an out-of-body experience when talking to him. Then again, we were kinda friends now, so that could contribute to my lack of shyness.<br/>"Hey, you getting tired of taking me to work yet?" I asked, only half-joking. I really was curious if he was regretting his decision to drive me every day.<br/>"Nope, gives me something to do," he responded, flashing what Ally had called a 'panty melting' smile.<br/>"Well, alright," I relented. "But I tell you what, you're gonna get tired of it. I'm not all that interesting," I warned him before opening the door and sliding in the passenger seat.<br/>"Maybe so," he allowed, getting into the driver's seat, "But it's better than staring at the walls. Anyways, I want to do something today."<br/>"I'm working all day then we're fixing the tuning belt or whatever," I reminded him, his smirk making me think I might've gotten the name wrong.<br/>"Timing belt," he corrected, "And I mean right now. On the way to work."<br/>"What are we doing?" I questioned, the moment strangely reminding me of the Cash Cab show. I was going to do something in a car between here and work.<br/>"You remember how you said you didn't like rock because you never listened to it?" he asked, continuing at my nod, "Well I'm going to take this car ride to introduce you to my favorite rock band. By the time it's over, you'll love it."<br/>He seemed so confident, like his idea was brilliant, and I tried to keep my face together. It wouldn't do at all to tell him I had lied and loved rock music with a passion. But he was just adorable to think he was introducing me to it.<br/>"Okay, who's your favorite?" I asked, intrigued. Linkin Park? Green Day? Or was he more hard core like Metallica and ACDC?<br/>"They're called Arctic Monkeys," he responded, putting a CD into the radio and pulling out of the driveway. He stayed quiet while I listened to a song I'd heard so many times that it had worn my CD down and I had to buy a new one.<br/>I couldn't believe it. The Arctic Monkeys were his favorite? I knew he'd been playing a song of theirs the other day but I hadn't known they were his favorite. Now I knew and was blown away. I wanted to bounce up and down with giddiness. I had so much about them that I wanted to say that I couldn't tell anyone and now I had him but I'd already lied so I couldn't.<br/>Instead, I had to keep it all bottled up as I pretended to listen politely, letting him think this was my first time hearing it. I waited until the song ended to talk, not wanting to be rude.<br/>"That's what you were playing the other day, right?" I asked, feigning ignorance. He just nodded and gave me a speculative look.<br/>"Did you hear me sing?" he inquired and I tried to decipher his tone. Embarrassed? Suspicious? Interested? I couldn't tell.<br/>"No," I lied. I remember he'd looked into my room and I'd pretended I hadn't been there so I wouldn't have been able to hear him sing.<br/>"Well do you know anybody in the neighborhood that likes rock music?" he looked back at the road as he spoke, "Because somebody was singing along, too."<br/>"Um, I think there's a girl a few houses down that likes it. I saw her wearing an ACDC shirt once," I lied again. Damn, I was pulling myself down the rabbit hole. Lie after lie. One of these times I was gonna get caught.<br/>"Maybe it was her," he mused as we pulled into the parking lot, "She had a really good voice. It'd be cool to catch up with her and see."<br/>"Totally. It'd be something to do besides driving me around," I joked, getting out of the car before turning to look at him, "I'll see you tonight."<br/>He waved goodbye as he pulled away and I walked straight to the kitchen.<br/>"Hey Viola," Reggy said as he flipped a burger.<br/>"Hey, Reg," I greeted, "You got anything?"<br/>He gestured to a little table in the corner of the kitchen. Reggy was nice and usually fixed me something for free whenever I worked in the afternoon. He said he didn't mind as long as Benny didn't find out. Today I really needed it, though. I hadn't had breakfast or lunch before I came here so the burger tasted like pure bliss.<br/>"Thanks," I murmured, patting him once on the back before I sat down. Ally came into the increasingly crowded room and her eyes locked on mine immediately.<br/>"Some day, Benny's gonna find out about y'alls little arrangement and he'll blow his top," she stated, pulling out her phone as I downed the last of the burger.<br/>"He won't find out," I mumbled through a mouthful of burger. It came out like mush before I swallowed and repeated it, "At least, not before I leave."<br/>"Whatever," she dismissed, putting her phone away and handing me my apron. I tied it around my waist like usual and headed for the doors that led to the general populace.<br/>I waited tables and greeted people happily for three hours straight before going to the break-room. Allison entered a minute later and sat next to me, leaning her head back against the wall like me.<br/>"I'll tell you what, this better all be worth it when I open my bakery," she sighed dreamily.<br/>"It better be worth it when I get to school," I agreed.<br/>"Hey, how was it yesterday?" she asked suddenly, and I groaned. I'd forgotten about her obsession with me and James.<br/>"It was fine. We just talked while he was fixing Lucy," I sighed. I knew she wanted to hear something like how he pushed me up against the car and we passionately made out, but that didn't happen.<br/>"Oh, c'mon!" she whined, "Was he wearing his sexy mechanic outfit again?" I thought back to the grey shirt he'd started out in that had soon been shed, revealing his tight white undershirt that quickly turned see-through with sweat. It was strange to see that the grease stains made it more attractive.<br/>"Yes. And I had to watch as it got progressively sexier as he worked," I complained. It really was too bad that he couldn't wear a winter coat and sweatpants to work. Actually on second thought, the sweatpants would probably be sexy, too.<br/>"Do you think he'd fix my car if it 'accidentally' got broken?" she asked, using air quotes.<br/>"Don't break your car, Al," I sighed. "If you want someone, go get that graduation guy. He was cute," I reminded her.<br/>"Yeah but he wasn't older and hotter like James," she whined and I rolled my eyes.<br/>"James is a look but don't touch piece," I warned, leveling her with a glare. "My friendship with him is nice and I'd like it to last a little longer."<br/>"Hmm... your friendship. Right..." she trailed off suggestively.<br/>"Okay, I'll bite," I rolled my eyes, "What did that mean?"<br/>"I think it means you're being awfully possessive of him. Your friendship with him is new so it wouldn't hurt too too much to lose it. But you're still forbidding me to have him? I just think maybe someone has a crush," she sang, and I blanched. I didn't have a crush on James. Sure, he was hot, but so was Zac Efron and I didn't have a crush on him.<br/>"I do not have a crush," I told her, "Colton takes up too much of my time and energy for there to be room for a crush."<br/>"So if I started dating him, you wouldn't be jealous? You'd just be worried about losing your friendship?" she asked innocently.<br/>"No, I wouldn't be jealous," I almost growled. I would just be worried about losing him as a friend, right? I wouldn't care if Allison got to kiss him and rest in his arms. No. No, I wouldn't. I stood up and took a deep breath before straightening my apron and getting back to work.<br/>Ally surprised me by not bringing up James the whole way home. She talked about what she was going to sell at her bakery. She loved making cakes but she'd also sell pastries and little finger foods. I nodded and listened, not drawing attention to myself in case the subject turned to me.<br/>When we pulled in, James was nowhere to be seen. Ignoring the fact that I was slightly disappointed, I went upstairs to change. Black leggings replaced my jeans and a light blue tank top replaced my polo. I took my hair out of the uncomfortable ponytail and let it flow freely. Slipping on a pair of flip flops, I walked back outside.<br/>James was sitting on the Barton's porch and he looked at me when I came out. I punched in the garage code and the door opened slowly as he approached. He wore a white v-neck today with what looked like the same jeans from yesterday.<br/>He gave a quick smile before passing me and I noticed for the first time that he smelled good. Wait, what? Did I just smell him? That's kinda creepy, Viola.<br/>We started working in the same positions as yesterday. I perched on the stool while he stood at the front of the car. I was getting better at memorizing the names of the tools so that I knew which ones I had to pass him.<br/>"So did you go look for that girl today?" I asked, trying to sound merely curious.<br/>He paused for a moment. "What girl?" he asked, resuming his work.<br/>"The girl that I thought listened to rock. The one that might've been the one you heard singing," I reminded him, maybe a little too invested.<br/>"Oh, uh, no. It wasn't that big of a deal. Plus I'm honestly not sure I even heard it. It could've been my mind singing along even after I stopped," he shrugged, diving back into whatever he was doing.<br/>"It is a pretty good song," I commented, getting as close as I could to bonding over music, "The kind that could get stuck in your head." I know it's gotten stuck in mine more than once.<br/>"So did you like it?" he asked, seeming eager. I laughed a little at his excitement.<br/>"I did," I admitted. "It had me wondering about every soccer-mom type that walked into Benny's," I joked with a laugh and he joined in.<br/>"Makes me wonder if we all trade our naughty thoughts for niceness. So what music is usually stuck in your head?" he asked before grimacing, "Please tell me it's not country."<br/>"It's not country. Ew, no. It's pop songs from the 2000s," I said truthfully. When I wasn't rocking out I listened to Pop2k.<br/>"Pop music? That's your go-to?" he questioned skeptically.<br/>"Pop music from the 2000s," I clarified. "I like the songs that I listened to growing up. They're like a comfort blanket. Plus, they're so much easier to sing along to," I gushed.<br/>"Do you like to sing?" he asked and I paled, shifting uncomfortably. Would he connect me to being that voice? Would I be exposed for all my lies?<br/>I debated on whether I should tell the truth or not then decided on yes. I wanted to stop lying to him about everything music-wise.<br/>"Yeah, a little. Not in front of anyone though," I stipulated, "Ally says I'm good but the only reason she knows is because I sang in the shower at a sleepover." Why was I talking so much? All I had to do was say yes.<br/>"If I asked you to sing now, would you?" he questioned expectantly.<br/>"Nope. I only sing to my shower-head," I replied vehemently. No way was I brave enough to sing in front of him while he scrutinized my every note.<br/>"If being in the shower is what it takes, then I think I can make that sacrifice," he responded like it was a great burden, bringing a hand to cover his heart. My mouth dropped open like a fish and my face heated. Every coherent thought in my head was scrambled. All of them were replaced with the image of James showering with me.<br/>I was used to Allison and even Colton making sexual comments and innuendos and I was usually able to roll my eyes at them. It was so weirdly different when James did it. It was causing butterflies to come to life in my stomach and my throat to close up.<br/>"Viola, I'm kidding!" he assured me in response to my reaction, "I was just teasing you. I'm not going to make you sing if you don't want to."<br/>His words barely registered, but I managed to calm myself down in the time it took for him to say them. Stupid teenage hormones.<br/>"I'm sorry. I know you were. I hear it from Ally all the time. She calls me a prude because I get all flustered over stupid sexual innuendos," I muttered, rolling my eyes. He grinned before looking back to the car and asking for a torque wrench.<br/>"That kind of makes me want to do it more often," he teased with a snicker, and I smacked his arm playfully.<br/>"You'd better not!" I warned him, but I'd have no way of keeping him from doing it.<br/>"So Ally's the only one to hear you sing?" he asked, "Not even Colton?"<br/>"Nope. After I sang in Ally's shower I was very careful about who was in the house," I said. I'd made sure not to sing a note in the shower on graduation night.<br/>"See, I couldn't do that. I like singing too much to care who's around," he countered casually. I wished I was that brave.<br/>"Are you any good?" I asked, already knowing he was. His grin was cocky, even while looking down at the engine.<br/>"I'm awesome," he stated.<br/>"And very humble as well," I noted sarcastically, and he laughed.<br/>"Alright, I think I'm awesome," he amended, amused.<br/>"I know it's not fair but, if I asked you to sing now, would you?" I asked excitedly. I'd only barely been able to hear his voice before and I wanted to hear it again. He laughed before standing straight and wiping his hands on a piece of cloth.<br/>"What song?" he asked.<br/>"Just the Girl," I said immediately before being confused. Why did I pick that one? Shouldn't I have thought it over a little bit? He smirked before he brought his hands up to start playing an imaginary guitar, complete with the rock-star expression.<br/>"She cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing,<br/> She pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion,<br/> She laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter,<br/> Strange as it seems she's the one I'm after," he paused to get into the little guitar part before the chorus.<br/> "Cause she's bittersweet she knocks me off my feet,<br/> And I can't help myself I don't want anyone else,<br/> She's a mystery, she's too much for me,<br/> But I keep coming back for more,<br/> She's just the girl I'm looking for."<br/>He dropped his head dramatically at the last note and the imaginary guitar disappeared. I was in awe. First, that he was even brave enough to sing in front of someone. Second, his voice was amazing. He could've been a professional singer.<br/>"You're awesome," I complimented, eyes still wide, and he came back to bend over the engine again, laughing.<br/>"Am I awesome enough to get you to sing for me now?" he asked with a grin.<br/>"Um, no. Hard no. I feel like my voice would pale in comparison to what just happened," I said truthfully. There was no way I could sing in front of him knowing he could sing like that.<br/>"You're ridiculous. If you weren't good, why would Ally say you were?"<br/>"Because I'm her best friend. You're supposed to build each other up, not tear them down," I pointed out.<br/>"But she didn't have to tell you she heard you," he contradicted, "If you sucked, she probably would've just pretended she hadn't heard anything."<br/>"Huh, I guess you're kinda right," I allowed before getting back to the point, "Doesn't mean it's as good as yours."<br/>"How do I know if it is if I haven't heard it?" he asked, eyes still on his work.<br/>"I guess you'll just have to trust me, because my shyness prevents me from singing in front of other people," I stated in a matter-of-fact tone. He lifted his gaze to me, looking me up and down with a speculative look, before it dropped back down.<br/>"I'll hear it eventually," he replied confidently, as if it were a forgone conclusion. I rolled my eyes at his cockiness.<br/>"Doubtful," I muttered. He'd never hear it. I hadn't even let Colton hear it. This guy was barely more than an acquaintance. Okay, that wasn't true. He was a friend. He was a friend, but I'd still never let him hear me sing.<br/>"So what do you do for fun when it isn't denying people your voice?" he inquired, changing the subject. Kind of.<br/>"Well, today I was reading my edition of Silver Surfer. That's my fun. Graphic novels," I shrugged plainly.<br/>"Comic books? That's your free time?" he asked skeptically, "Is that why you have t-shirts of all the different Avengers?"<br/>"How do you know about those?" I demanded a tad defensively. I loved my comic books.<br/>"You've worn them around all summer," he explained in an 'obviously' tone. Oh, yeah. They were my favorite t-shirts so I'd worn them all the time, I'd just forgotten he was here then.<br/>"Well, comic books are awesome. They're so much more fun than the boring books Colton and Hannah read," I said, remembering having to read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was so boring.<br/>"Why don't you have a boyfriend?" he asked abruptly, "I mean, besides the Colton thing. Haven't you ever been asked out?"<br/>Why didn't I have a boyfriend besides the Colton thing? Well, I didn't really know any other boys. I didn't talk to guys in general so they didn't know me.<br/>"Um, I guess I just never really talked to anyone but Colton. It was, like, middle school when I realized I had a thing for him. Ever since then I just don't talk to guys," I shrugged and he looked at me funnily before smoothing his expression over.<br/>"Well, if you talked to other guys the way you talk to me you'd be getting asked out on a daily basis," he stated, actually sounding like he meant it. I laughed at that. Guys asking me out. That'd be the day.<br/>"I'm completely serious," he persisted so I stopped laughing.<br/>"Okay so how come you aren't asking me out if I'm so desirable once you get to know me?" I asked, seeing if that'd shut him up.<br/>"It's a secret," he admitted as he stood up to look at me. He used the rag to clean the torque wrench and handed it back to me.<br/>A secret? Yeah, the secret is that there is no secret. He just doesn't see me that way. Same as Colton. Same as everyone else. I rolled my eyes at him and gave him the next tool. He dove back in.<br/>We spent the rest of the time talking about music. I had to keep myself from jumping up and down when he told me he'd heard Arctic Monkeys in concert. I had to keep myself from smiling when he introduced all the different rock bands that I'd been listening to for years as his favorites. By the time the alarm on his phone went off, he'd covered every CD he had.<br/>"Half-way there," he announced as he closed Lucy's hood. He wiped his oily hands across his shirt, effectively staining it forever. Then again, there'd already been black marks here and there. I'd guess that he had a lot of stained shirts.<br/>"Half-way? So, in two more days, she'll be ready to drive?" I asked excitedly.<br/>"That's the plan," he replied, smiling at my energy.<br/>"Okie dokie," I paused. Had I really just said that? "I mean okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning. Only two more days until you're rid of me," I joked, and he laughed.<br/>"Hopefully not," he muttered under his breath before turning to go. There was a strange tug at my heart strings that made me want to invite him to dinner. Then I thought of my mom and her reaction and decided against it. All I could do was watch him disappear inside.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The Games You Play</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton texts James and James discovers Viola's secret.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I ambled over to the refrigerator to grab a coke and found a pizza box in there as well. I pulled it out and there was dinner. Not much could beat cold pizza and a coke. I ignored the kitchen table and brought the food straight to my room, eating on the bed.<br/>My phone buzzed in my pocket and I rolled my eyes when I read the name. Colton.<br/>        	Colton: Hey man. Wrud?<br/>I ignored the question. He didn't give a shit what I was doing, as long as I wasn't doing it with Viola. Literally.<br/>        	What do you want?<br/>The little typing bubble immediately appeared and I waited for him to hit send.<br/>        	Colton: Are you hanging out with Viola?<br/>I'd hit the nail right on the head with the Viola aspect.<br/>        	No. I'm not. I'm in my room eating cold pizza and coke. Is that ok with you?<br/>It was truthful. At this point in time I was not hanging out with Viola.<br/>        	Colton: Don't b a dick. I'm just trying to look out for her<br/>I didn't answer. I'd heard that too many times. Just trying to protect Viola from the older cousin that didn't have anything handed to him but a work schedule. Damn this kid knew how to push my buttons. I needed to relax.<br/>Since the fight, I hadn't played my guitar. I tried to be civil. So video games it was, then. I turned on the controller and the Call of Duty screen came up. I was a little tired of it, though. I went back over to the gaming case to see what else they had.<br/>I stopped when I came across a Spongebob video game among all the violence and racing. I pulled it out curiously.<br/>"Nancy!" I called out, and she came in from the kitchen.<br/>"What?" she didn't seem irritated, but she also didn't seem entirely pleased.<br/>"Did Colton play this?" I asked incredulously. If he did I was giving him shit as soon as he got back.<br/>"Oh, no. Colton doesn't play video games. That's one of Viola's that she left here," she said before going back to the kitchen. I could feel the shit-eating grin on my face but I couldn't help it. No wonder she didn't want to tell me what kind of video game she played. Still, I was curious.<br/>I popped it into the XBox and started the game. It was all about Spongebob the Movie. Going on a journey from Bikini Bottom to Shell City. It was kind of embarrassing how hard it was to beat some levels. The first few were easy, as with any game, but they got progressively harder and then I was yelling at the TV screen.<br/>I decided to call it a night after four hours stuck on one level.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Texts From A Nightmare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola gets a not-so-fun text from Colton.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Vi, there's something we need to talk about," Colton said somberly, pulling my arm until I sat next to him on my couch.<br/>
"Okay, baby. Let's talk," I said cheerfully. I loved our talks. This was extra special because he was the one initiating it. It had always been me in the past.<br/>
"I think we should break up, Viola," he rushed out, not looking me in the eye.<br/>
My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest. But I looked down and saw that I was completely fine.<br/>
"W-what are you talking about? Why?" I asked, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.<br/>
"Because," he starts before looking at something behind me. I followed his gaze to see a tall strawberry blonde bimbo in a halter top and tight skirt, "Because I'm in love with her," Colton explained before getting up and walking to the girl.<br/>
Then, despite me being in the room, they started to make out. Anger and pain overtook me and I launched myself at them. I just had to get them apart from each other. But I went right through them. Like a ghost.<br/>
I'd made no effect as my body passed through theirs. I was left on the ground looking up at the horrific spectacle they were making in my living room...<br/>
"Oh, God," I groaned as I rubbed my eyes. I wished my subconscious would just stop thinking about Colton for a night. The dreams and nightmares seemed to be equally bad as I turned off my alarm clock and got ready for work. I threw my hair into a ponytail, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door. Maybe Reggy would have food waiting.<br/>
"What's up temporary neighbor?" James called from inside the car, and I smiled. He was a good distraction if nothing else. I climbed in and greeted him back, growing wary when he kept smiling. The humor in his brown eyes was making me nervous.<br/>
"What?" I asked reluctantly as he pulled out of the driveway.<br/>
"It's nothing. I just played a new game last night," he said lightly.<br/>
"Okay...?" I replied, sensing something off in his tone.<br/>
"I can't seem to remember the name," he continued, pretending to have to think about it. I could tell he was getting to the punch line of whatever joke he was about to tell, "Oh, yeah! Spongebob the Movie," he exclaimed in mock surprise.<br/>
My face turned beet red. He found something hilarious about this so he must've known it was mine. I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. This morning in itself had sucked. I should just go crawl back in bed. Call in sick or something.<br/>
"Those are the types of video games you want to design?" he questioned incredulously.<br/>
I shook my head vehemently.<br/>
"No, no. Not games based on movies or anything. But kids games, yeah. They've just always been so much more fun than adult games like the ones you play. The kids' ones are about more than just killing as many people as possible. Wait. Did you say you played it?" I asked, catching that small detail and he tensed.<br/>
"You had fun playing it, didn't you?" I accused, laughing at his frown. "I told you they were fun, right? Did you get to the level where they're sliding down the trench in the patty wagon?" That was always the hardest level for me.<br/>
"Yes. That's where I had to stop because I couldn't get past it. I tell you what, I don't know how they expect kids to do it," he fumed through my laughter. This was the pickup I needed. Knowing the guy that mastered adult games couldn't beat a level on a kids game.<br/>
"Alright. Ha ha ha, very funny," he grumbled as I continued laughing into the parking lot, "Now get out."<br/>
I opened the door after my giggles subsided. "Don't worry, James. You can spend all day practicing while I'm at work," I teased and he scowled before reversing and pulling out. I was still infected with random peals of laughter as I walked through the back door.<br/>
"What're you laughing about?" Ally asked, sitting down across the break-room with an apple in her hand.<br/>
"Nothing," I shook my head with a smile. I knew mentioning anything about James would get her started on a conversation that wouldn't stop until she dropped me off at home.<br/>
"Alright..." she said dubiously, before taking a bite out of her apple. I pressed my lips together tightly to keep from smiling as I put my apron on. I'd always thought my brand of games would only be embarrassing for me, but James' blush had been quite humorous.<br/>
Gaining control of my expression, I started for the door. Before I made it to the public, I heard my phone buzz. A few extra seconds wouldn't hurt anyone, I thought. I walked to pick up my phone and smiled when I saw the text was from Colton. When I unlocked my phone, the smile immediately disappeared.<br/>
Colton: Hey Vi! Sorry for not texting sooner, but I just wanted to let you know I'm having a gr8 time! You gotta come down next year!<br/>
Attached was a picture of him and Hannah at a beach party. She was wearing the smallest hot pink swimsuit I'd ever seen and he had no shirt on. She was on his back giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek in all her blonde perfection. I wanted to throw up. If they were that showy and skanky looking in public, I could only imagine what they were doing in private.<br/>
"What's wrong, Vi?" Ally asked, coming up to my side. "Oh," I heard and I assume she saw the picture I was still staring at for some reason. Thankfully, Allison pulled it from my hand and threw it back in my locker before turning me to face her.<br/>
"Just forget about it, okay?" she ordered, "It's just a stupid picture of kids on the beach. All kids look like that on vacation. It's no big deal."<br/>
"No big deal..." I repeated in a daze as she guided me towards the diner door. I snapped out of it just enough to put on a good waitress face, but I still saw it in my head. Every couple that came into the diner looked like them to me. By the time my shift was over, I was desperate for something to make me forget.<br/>
"Ally," I started shyly, "Can I ask you for something?"<br/>
"After the day you've had, you can ask me for anything," she replied sympathetically. Good.<br/>
"Do you still have that whipped cream vodka stashed in your room?" I wondered. Normally, I hated drinking. I hated the taste and the overwhelming drunkenness that came with it. After all, I only weighed 110 pounds. I was the definition of a lightweight.<br/>
Allison hesitated before confirming.<br/>
"Can you get me drunk?" I asked, close to begging.<br/>
"Vi..." she trailed off, torn.<br/>
"Please," I begged, "I need to get that picture out of my head."<br/>
Allison looked at me warily for a moment more before nodding and getting into the car. I thanked my seldom-lucky stars that she was my friend.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. All the Things That Make You Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James is stuck with caring for a drunk Viola and secrets are revealed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was seven o'clock by the time Allison's car pulled into Viola's driveway and I had been debating whether or not to call the cops for the last hour. I was instantly angry at the worry I'd been going through without even a phone call when I saw that she was okay.<br/>I stomped to the passenger side door just in time to catch Viola as she stumbled out of the mini-coup. The smell of vodka permeated the air and I cringed away from the memories that went along with it. Great. She was drunk.<br/>"Oh my God, James!" she exclaimed loudly, "We were just talking about you!"<br/>"What the Hell?" I demanded, looking to Ally instead of Viola, who was still unsteady in my arms. I glared at the brunette but was relieved to see that she didn't seem to be intoxicated. At least they weren't driving drunk.<br/>"I'm sorry. She begged me to let her drink. She's had a... hard day," Allison defended, looking at Viola sympathetically.<br/>"What do you mean?" I never thought Viola would be one to get plastered. I thought she was responsible.<br/>"Colton texted her today," she explained, and I could figure out that it wasn't just a 'Hey, what's up?' kind of text. Ally pulled Viola's phone out and pulled up a message and picture from Colton. Shit.<br/>"I can take care of her from here," I sighed, pocketing the phone, "Thank you for not drinking with her."<br/>"Are you sure you got her?" she asked warily. I could tell she was debating whether or not she could trust me, and I couldn't blame her. I was, after all, practically a stranger to her. I gave my best reassuring smile.<br/>"Ally, he's really strong. You see all the muscles," Viola interrupted, running her hand over my arms, "He's totally got me."<br/>"Yeah. I'll make sure her mom doesn't see her until she sobers up a little bit," I sighed, ignoring Viola and hoping to get Ally to leave. Viola was starting to get grabby and I needed to get her somewhere safer.<br/>"Okay," Allison finally agreed, and I shut the door, towing Viola into the garage. I guess we weren't going to work on the car today. I heard the small car pull away as I shut the garage door and sat Viola down in her punch buggy, leaving the door open.<br/>"Hey Vi," I cooed in the same tone I would use with an infant, "Do you have any crackers in your house?"<br/>"Yes!" she gasped, "Crackers are the best! We have the salty rectangle ones and those round ones that you drink with tomato soup!" she stopped, "Oh, wait, you don't drink crackers..." she finished before laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. Jesus, she was smashed.<br/>"Where, Viola? Where are the crackers?" Now I felt like I was asking where Little Timmy was.<br/>"They're in the cabinet with all the macaroni- Wait! We should make macaroni!" she suggested seriously.<br/>"We're going to eat some crackers first, okay? Get you sobered up a little," I explained and her brows scrunched.<br/>"What's up with your accent? Why do you have to stretch every word out? It's so much easier to say gonna, not going to," she slurred, putting an emphasis on how long it takes to say the two words.<br/>"Well, I'm from the north. We don't naturally use contractions that aren't grammatically correct," I explained, slightly worried about how intoxicated she truly was. I knew she was smart enough to know that. We had talked about academics before and she had a 3.95 gpa.<br/>I walked into the house before she could respond, going straight to the kitchen to rummage through the cabinets. Three cabinets in I found a box of saltines. I grabbed them before filling a glass with water and carrying both out to the garage.<br/>When I got out I saw that she was spread across the hood of the vehicle. I'd had more than enough fantasies about making out with her on her car but I'd never do that in the state she was in now.<br/>Instead, I pulled on her hands until she was seated more properly. She groaned and frowned at me in an adorable way when our eyes met again. I rolled my eyes at her pout before opening the box of crackers.<br/>"What's that?" she asked grumpily.<br/>"Crackers. I told you that's what we were having," I reminded her, ripping open the plastic sleeve and retrieving a cracker. She smacked it out of my hand.<br/>"I wanted macaroni!" she complained before switching gears and laughing at my expression.<br/>"You need to get a little more sober, and these will help," I explained, snatching the box out of reach when she went to smack at it again.<br/>"I don't want to be sober! I want to be black out drunk to forget about everything. Colton, Hannah, you," she listed angrily and I was momentarily surprised that I was included in her list of people she was angry with. I hadn't done anything.<br/>"Viola, this is not a healthy way of coping with your emotions. Trust me, you don't want to get into the habit of doing this," I scolded, flashing back to Dad stumbling around drunk to forget Mom.<br/>"You don't get it," she snapped in a sudden moment of clarity, "This is the only way to forget, and that's all I want. I wanna forget about all the feelings and have a normal friendship with my best friend."<br/>Then her clarity was gone.<br/>"And then I want macaroni!" she shouted, trying to jump off the hood.<br/>I sighed and restrained her. "How about I make macaroni after you eat some crackers and drink this water," I negotiated. She pursed her lips before taking a new cracker from me. I smiled slightly when she ate the entire thing in one bite before digging around for another. She'd eaten about half a sleeve before drinking the last of the water.<br/>"Good enough?" she asked hopefully as she swallowed the last cracker I handed her. I took a moment to look at her. She wasn't as wobbly as she had been before and her eyes looked a little less glazed. I nodded once and she beamed before hopping off the hood of the car, wobbling only slightly.<br/>I followed her into the house and she sat down as I started on the pasta. Slightly sobered or not, I wasn't about to let her near a stove. As I waited for the water to boil, I grabbed her phone out of my pocket and looked at the picture again.<br/>Colton was so stupid. Why would he send a picture like that to her? He said she was like his sister. I wouldn't send that picture to my sister. I actually couldn't think of anyone it would be appropriate to send to, except maybe a cheating ex. I hesitated for a moment before deleting the picture.<br/>When the noodles were done I quickly strained them and added the cheese. I brought the entire pot and two bowls into the dining room where she sat, head laying on her arms. I smiled. It looked like the crackers were helping and she was getting into a sleepy drunkenness.<br/>She looked up when she heard me put everything on the table and smiled lazily. I filled both our bowls and handed her hers. She ate approximately two bites before she claimed to be full. I suppressed an eye roll and ate the rest of mine before putting the leftovers in a tupperware container.<br/>"I think I'm ready for bed," she admitted with a yawn and I stood and followed her to the base of the staircase. She wobbled on the first step and fell. I couldn't help but laugh before telling her to hop on my back. She giggled and complied.<br/>I was honestly a little worried about how light she was as I carried her to her room. Surely that weight couldn't be healthy. She hopped off at the door and walked into her room. I stopped in the doorway, not wanting to intrude or give her the wrong idea.<br/>"Are you going to be okay tonight?" I asked nervously, looking at my watch. It was 10:30. Not bad for nursing someone on the verge of blackout drunk.<br/>"Yep, just gotta put my jammies on," she spoke calmly but I immediately turned to head downstairs when she started tugging at the hem of her shirt, moving to pull it over her head while I still stood there. Maybe she wasn't as sober as I thought. I shook my head as I made my way back to my house. I was still trying to get her out of my head as I dressed for bed. I heard a whistle and turned to my window.<br/>Viola had her window open and was leaning precariously outward. I quickly ran to open mine.<br/>"Viola, get back in your room!" I half-yelled half-whispered. I didn't want the Barton's to come check on me.<br/>"You know, Ally says you're really hot. Especially when she came over that one day and started whistling. She's not wrong, either. And she hasn't even seen you without a shirt like I have," she slurred, alcohol taking away her filter. "You never close your blinds when you get dressed for bed, did you know that?" she explained, seeing my confused expression. I would've been happy or excited or even embarrassed if I hadn't been overwhelmed with worry at her dangerous position.<br/>"Viola, seriously. Quit leaning out of your window. You're too drunk," I ordered and, thankfully, something in my tone actually made her lean back. I breathed a sigh of relief as she crossed her arms.<br/>"Hey, the polite thing to do would've been for you to say I was hot, too," she scolded with a frown. Huh, that was unexpected. Well, I reasoned, she's not going to remember this tomorrow anyways.<br/>"Viola, you have no idea how hot you are," I stated truthfully, "Now go to sleep. You're going to have a huge hangover tomorrow."<br/>She closed the window with a small smile and I closed my blinds to change my pants, hopping into bed shirtless. So, Viola thought I was hot. She also peeked into my window from time to time while I got dressed. I tried to decipher how I felt about that but I could come up with nothing better than it was a positive feeling. That was the last thing I thought before I fell asleep.<br/>My alarm clock woke me up at 10 am and I realized I probably had a hungover neighbor to deal with. I rolled out of bed and got dressed for the day. Shirt, jeans, shoes. Then I went downstairs to make my famous hangover cure. Ginger, water, honey, lemon juice. I mixed them all together and poured it into an empty water bottle.<br/>I grabbed a few rocks out of the planter on the way back to my room and opened the window. Just as I thought, her window had been left open. I threw five rocks straight through the window to hit her sleeping form before she finally sat up. I knew that year of baseball would be useful someday. I saw her immediately cringe away from the sunlight streaming through the window.<br/>"Viola," I called in a slightly louder than usual voice. She looked toward me through squinted eyes.<br/>"Are you throwing rocks at me?" she asked, seeming half-surprised and half-angry.<br/>"Yeah, I had to wake you up," I replied dismissively before smiling, "Hungover?"<br/>She glared, "What do you think?"<br/>"Yeah, I thought so," I said, shaking up my mixture one more time before throwing it to her the same way I'd done the rocks. It landed near the foot of the bed before she reached for it.<br/>"What is this?" she asked skeptically, warily taking off the lid before holding it up to her nose. I laughed when she cringed away from the smell.<br/>"It's the consequence of getting hammered," I responded dryly.<br/>"Really? I thought the consequence was my head feeling like it's about to explode," she countered with an eye roll. Cute.<br/>"Hey, I never said there would only be one consequence. Now drink it all. You have to go to work in two hours and I feel like having a hangover isn't going to get you tips," I smiled at her post-drinking look. Maybe that would keep her from drinking in the future.<br/>She muttered something that I could've sworn was 'Fuck you', before drinking the entire bottle in one swig. I guess getting it over and done with all at once wasn't a bad strategy. Kind of like ripping off a band aid.<br/>"I'm going back to sleep. Leave me alone," she grumbled before laying back down and covering her head with a blanket. I laughed to myself. I'd wake her up again later, but first I'd let the cure take effect. I closed my window and laid back down.<br/>Almost two hours later I was sitting in my Mustang, trying to find a radio station that played calmer music that didn't completely suck. I knew rock wouldn't go over well with the headache Viola probably still had, though I kind of felt like blaring it just so she wouldn’t go out drinking again.<br/>The passenger door opened roughly and Viola huffed down into the seat, wearing a pair of huge dark sunglasses I'd never seen before. Her hair had been thrown up into something that resembled a bun and I could only hope Allison would see this and say 'no' that next time Viola wanted to drink.<br/>"Why is the sun so bright today?" Viola asked as she flipped the visor down to block more of the glare.<br/>"The sun isn't any brighter than normal. You just drank a lot and the universe decided to punish you for it," I told her matter-of-factly. I wasn't ever going to be fine with what she did so I didn't plan on pretending I was.<br/>"Well it should stop now. I've been punished enough," she groaned.<br/>"So did the drink I gave you help at all?" I asked curiously. I'd given it to people before and they all said they'd felt better.<br/>"Well I don't feel like complete crap anymore if that's what you're asking," she muttered dryly. Apparently hangovers made Viola grumpy. It was actually kind of funny.<br/>"Are you going to be okay to work today?" I questioned. She wouldn't get any tips with this attitude.<br/>"I'll be fine and I can't take a day off. I'm done for the summer next Saturday so it'd be bitchy and irresponsible to cut work today. Plus, I'm going to need all the money I can get if I'm not working the last two weeks before I go to LA," she explained and I was impressed. Even in this mood, she was still pushing through to be responsible and still thinking about how her actions would affect others. Further proof that she was kind.<br/>"Alright," I sighed as I pulled into the parking lot, "I'd just suggest an attitude adjustment before you talk to the customers."<br/>Even behind her glasses I could see the eye roll thrown my way. I smiled as she got out and covered her eyes against the summer sun. I circled around and left the little restaurant, not heading in any particular direction.<br/>I needed something to do that wasn't just waiting or Viola to come home to work on the car. I didn't feel like getting yelled at for playing guitar or yelling at the children's game I couldn't beat. This town was too small.<br/>I eventually pulled into a BP station to fill up my gas tank. This was the first time I'd had to do it this summer and I was a little pissed at the price of gas here. $3.47 for one tank of gas? Ridiculous.<br/>I turned on the nozzle and leaned against the car to wait before I heard murmurs from behind me. I turned and saw two guys wearing the frat boy starter pack. Pastel polos, khaki shorts, and flip flops. I wouldn't be caught dead in something like that.<br/>They were talking to each other as they waited for gas and I noticed that they looked at me from time to time. It was ridiculous to see two men gossiping amongst themselves like a couple of preteen chicks. I turned back to my pump when I heard the click.<br/>As I drove away, I thought of those guys. I wasn't sure why they bugged me so much. I'd definitely seen plenty of guys like that in LA. Maybe it was just because every guy in this tiny town, including Colton, dressed and acted that way. At least in LA there was a certain amount of differentiation.<br/>But, for some reason, I wasn't dying to get out of here like I had been as soon as I'd gotten here. Okay, not some reason. There was one reason in particular that made me want to stay now. Viola.<br/>I didn't know what it was about her that was great enough for me to not want to high-tail it out of this crap town. I could say it was because she wanted to design video games or because she hadn't had life handed to her like everyone else, but I knew those things were just the things that made me like her.<br/>Because before I'd even known those things, I'd felt a strange draw to her. From the minute she tried to run me down, I'd been intrigued. But I wasn't sure what that meant. I'd never really had a lot of experience with girl friendships. I'd had a lot of girlfriends, but never girl friends.<br/>I knew without a doubt that I found her attractive. There was no way I'd be able to convincingly deny that. She had a beautiful face with gorgeous hair. Her body was small but proportionate to her height. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to date her, either. It was always a little sickening to see how she practically swooned at the thought of Colton.<br/>I couldn't understand how someone as cool and refined as Viola could like someone as shallow and spoiled as Colton. I'd been tempted so many times to outright ask her why she liked him. However, I didn't want another repeat of yesterday by bringing the subject up.<br/>I was getting so lost in thought that, by the time I eventually went home, it was three o'clock. I wandered inside and grabbed the ingredients for a turkey sandwich. Turkey, bread, cheese, mayonnaise.<br/>I grabbed a Coke and took it all upstairs. When I'd first gotten here, Nancy had explicitly told me that no food was allowed upstairs, but I could probably count on both hands how many times I'd actually eaten downstairs in over a month.<br/>I finished my food and decided to watch TV to pass the time. 21 Jump Street was just starting so I clicked the channel and sat back, grateful that Josh had a TV in his room so I didn't have to go downstairs and spend time with my aunt and uncle.<br/>I'd just watched the end of 22 Jump Street when I heard a car pull up outside. I checked the time on my phone. Six fifteen. I clicked the TV off and got up to take my dishes down to the kitchen. Nancy could tell me that food upstairs made messes all she wanted, but I'd never left trash or crumbs up there.<br/>I traded my dark blue v-neck for my much abused white v-neck and headed outside. Viola came outside just as I approached the garage. She had her hair in a side braid instead of the awful bun from earlier. It hung over a fitted blue t-shirt completed with black leggings and flip flops. And, of course, the locket she always wore.<br/>She punched in the garage code as we exchanged greetings, turning her body slightly to keep me from seeing the numbers she typed. The garage door slowly creaked open and we both walked inside. I saw the glass of water I'd left in there last night and was reminded that I wanted to talk to her about that.<br/>"Can I ask you about something?" I started as I popped the hood.<br/>She took a moment to hop onto her stool before responding, "Sure."<br/>I bent over the engine before I spoke, "Is what happened last night a normal thing for you?"<br/>She was quiet for so long that I looked up. Her cheeks were red and she was biting down on her lip hard. I thought about retracting the question, but I needed to know if she was that kind of person.<br/>"No, it's not," she finally replied, "I usually hate drinking. I don't like the taste of alcohol and you can probably guess I don't like making other people take care of me, but I needed it last night. Thank you for that, by the way. Ally said that you were the one that made sure I was okay."<br/>Her cheeks were red with embarrassment throughout her little speech and I felt bad for her, but also relieved. I'd been worried that the girl I was starting to like didn't have a healthy way of dealing with emotions, but apparently that wasn't the case.<br/>"So you don't remember anything about last night?" I asked skeptically. Ally had had to tell her that I was the one that took care of her?<br/>"Not much. I remember drinking, but it starts getting fuzzy at about the second shot. I can remember flashes of Ally's face. I remember flashes of yours, too, but I didn't know if I'd just seen you in passing," she admitted, and I sighed. She got black out drunk because of Colton. Definitely not worth it.<br/>"Nope. I made sure your mom didn't see you and I made you eat some food. It helped a little. By that I mean you were able to stand on your own two feet," I rolled my eyes as I got back to work, "And I made sure you didn't fall out of your window after I left."<br/>"I've got a question, too," she said tentatively, like she wasn't sure she wanted to ask.<br/>"Shoot," I replied warily.<br/>"I can remember flashes of you in my room...," she trailed off before seeming to steel herself, "Did anything, um, happen?"<br/>I stopped working on the car when I understood her implication and slowly lifted my head to look at her. I could feel the combination of hurt, anger, and disgust on my face. Seriously? How could she even think something like that? She had been drunk beyond belief.<br/>All the selfishness that was my reaction was taken away when I saw that she'd been truly worried about my answer. I sighed and worked to calm myself before I answered.<br/>"No," I looked straight into her eyes as I spoke, hoping she would see the truth in them, "You kept falling on your way up the stairs so I helped you up the stairs. I didn't even step foot in your room. I stopped at the door."<br/>She studied my expression and seemed relieved to see that I was telling the truth. Once I was positive she believed me, my previous feelings returned and I looked at the engine to keep her from seeing the anger.<br/>I knew she hadn't outright accused me of doing anything, but she'd thought me actually capable of doing something like that. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized I was emanating waves of hostility until she spoke again.<br/>"I-I'm sorry. I was just scared that I couldn't remember and I didn't know why you were in my room-" she stuttered defensively.<br/>"Just stop, Viola,” I interrupted and saw her flinch slightly. I tried to soften my voice before I spoke again. “You have every right to ask what happened if you can't remember. It's just... frustrating that you think I'm capable of... I wouldn't do something like that. I’m not that kind of person. But, like I said, you have every right to ask," I allowed, trying very hard to be calm throughout my reassurance, glaring at the engine.<br/>"Okay, so what all did happen last night? I'm not sure how I act when I'm drunk," she continued quietly, unsubtly changing the subject, and I went back to work.<br/>"Well, you started off by insulting my accent. Then, let's see, you smacked that cracker out of my hand when I was trying to sober you up," I remembered, pointing to the cracker that was still on the garage floor, "You then made me make you macaroni that you barely ate before I had to give you a piggyback ride up the stairs. I left when you decided that it was okay to change into your pajamas in front of me."<br/>I saw her hands go up to cover her face. "Oh, God," she said in a muffled voice. I laughed because that wasn't even the part of the night she'd be embarrassed about. She took her hands away and looked at me, "What are you laughing about now?"<br/>"Nothing. It's just, when I got back to my room, I saw you leaning precariously out of your window. Obviously I told you to get back inside, but you weren't even listening. You had... something else on your mind," I laughed again at her admitting to watching me change.<br/>"What? What'd I say?" she asked hesitantly.<br/>"You said that Allison thought I was hot, especially that time she saw me working on the car," I started and she shrugged.<br/>"Well, that's not really a big secret that she thinks you're hot," she shrugged flippantly.<br/>"Nope. That wasn't a secret. What was a secret was when you said it then admitted to watching me change from your window," I replied, suppressing a smile and peeking up to watch her reaction.<br/>Her mouth parted in horror and her eyes went wide, not to mention her entire face went from white to red.<br/>"James... I-I don't know what to say. Holy shit why would I drink when I had a secret like that? I'm sorry for spying on you, too. But, well, Ally's right! You're hot! Then you go and take off your shirt right there across from me. But, if it makes you feel better, I look away whenever you take off your pants," she ranted out, talking a mile a minute. I smiled to myself. It'd been cool to know she thought I was hot, but it was even better to hear it sober.<br/>"V, did it occur to you that I might have that same line of sight?" I pointed out, "And I don't watch you." I honestly couldn't care less that she'd seen me shirtless. It's not like I was ashamed of my body. It was just fun to tease her about it.<br/>"Well I guess you have more self control than I do," she sighed, a strange undercurrent in her voice, "Wait. Did you just call me V?"<br/>"Huh, I guess I did," I murmured, surprised at myself. I knew I'd never call her Vi- It reminded me of the Incredibles- but I guess Viola was starting to become too long to say.<br/>"My nickname is usually Vi. That's really all that Colton and Ally call me. My mom is the only one that calls me Viola regularly, besides you. I've never been called V," she smirked, seeming amused by it.<br/>"Well, there's a first time for everything, V," I responded, cementing my new nickname for her. I kind of liked that I'd be the only one to say it.<br/>"Hmm," she pursed her lips thoughtfully, "This means I get to give you a nickname."<br/>"How? My name is only one syllable. It's not really possible to shorten it," I pointed out. It was for that reason I'd never had a nickname.<br/>"What about Jay?" she suggested and I recoiled from the thought. I just imagined an old guy with white hair.<br/>"As in Leno?" I started and she laughed and conceded my point.<br/>"Well, what's your full name?" she asked, fishing.<br/>"James Dylan O'Connor," I sighed with an eye roll. She was looking for a nickname that wasn't there.<br/>"James Dylan?" she parroted with a laugh, "As in Led Zeppelin James Dylan? Is that how you got into rock?"<br/>I looked up at her, shocked. It hadn't been my parents intention when they picked out my name but how the fuck did she know who James Dylan was? How did she know Led Zeppelin? And James Dylan hadn't even been a big part of Led Zeppelin. He didn't show up until their last few tours. She stopped laughing when she saw my face.<br/>"How do you know who James Dylan is?" I asked, still in shock. All the color had drained from her face and her mouth was open but silent. I got a sneaking suspicion and left the front of her car to open the passenger door.<br/>"No, no, no!" she protested, opening the drivers side door to try and stop me right as I pulled the Arctic Monkeys CD case out of her glove compartment. What the fuck? How had I not seen this before? Why would she hide this from me? I suddenly felt like an idiot, remembering how I’d been excited to introduce her to rock.<br/>"What the Hell?" was all I managed to get out.<br/>"I'm... holding that for a friend?" she said it like a question and I gave her an 'are you kidding me?' expression. "Okay, okay, it's mine. I... love rock music. I've got Zeplin, Metallica, Paramore, etcetera all jammed in there."<br/>"Why did you lie?" I asked, not understanding why she seemed so ashamed as she sagged back against the worn leather seat.<br/>"Because everyone always looks at me strangely whenever I bring it up. Colton and Ally think rock is weird and I don't exactly look like the rock out type, do I?" she vented, gesturing to her petite form and angelic features.<br/>Past the shock and confusion, I couldn't ignore how fucking hot it was that she loved rock music even before I'd come along. It was as if this girl was molded to fit me perfectly. Video games, rock music, intelligence? How could that all be wrapped in a beautiful girl?<br/>"But why did you lie to me? You knew I liked rock," I questioned, confused as to why she'd think I'd judge her for it.<br/>"I was just really used to lying about it and, by the time I realized you liked it too, I'd already lied and couldn't exactly take it back without looking stupid," she defended.<br/>"I can't believe you pretended to not know who the Arctic Monkeys were," I gave a short laugh, holding up the case. The same case I had in my car.<br/>"That's actually my second one. I listened to the first one so much I tore it up and had to get a new one," she admitted and I just stared. "I'm sorry, it was just kinda adorable to see you so excited to show me 'new music'," she laughed, using air quotes for the last two words.<br/>I frowned and put the case back where I found it before getting out of the small car. I wasn't adorable. I was just trying to spread great music to more people. I heard the drivers door shut as I started work on the engine again.<br/>"JD!" Viola exclaimed after five minutes of silence, obviously having sensed that I wanted to stew.<br/>"Who’s JD?" I asked, still feeling a little emasculated.<br/>"That's what I'll call you. James Dylan- JD. That'll be your new nickname from me," she stated confidently, crossing her arms. JD. I felt like there was some kind of Bonnie and Clyde team where the guys name was JD, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it...<br/>"JD? That adds a syllable," I pointed out with a sigh, trying to move past the fact that she'd hidden such an awesome characteristic from me then called me adorable.<br/>"What is it with you and syllables? I can't believe you're a rock fan who's name is James Dylan and you don't want to include that anywhere in your title," she continued, exasperated.<br/>"What if I don't like JD?" I countered.<br/>"Tough luck. I do like it and so that's what I'm calling you from now on," she stated and her tone told me she'd be stubborn about this one. I could always refuse to fix her car unless she stopped but I didn't mind enough. She rarely said my name anyways.<br/>"Okay V, JD it is," I relented. I got a secret satisfaction from us having specific nicknames that we only called each other. Her smile lit up the whole garage and I laughed at her enthusiasm before she joined in.<br/>For the rest of the work, whenever we would talk, we'd go out of our way to use each other's nicknames. When my alarm went off at 8:30, I put down the tools.<br/>"Alright V, work's done for the day. That makes us 75 percent of the way done. You should have your car back by tomorrow night," I assured her, closing the hood and not admitting that we were closer to 85 percent done. The work tomorrow wouldn't take up a full two hours.<br/>"JD, that is great," she responded excitedly before looking out to the driveway and back at me, "Do you wanna stay for dinner?"<br/>"Did you just check to see if your mom's car was here?" I asked, confused at her behavior.<br/>"Um, yeah," she admitted, looking guilty, "She, er, doesn't... like you."<br/>"Oh. Why?" I tried not to take offense, but what the Hell? I was pretty sure I'd never spoken to Viola's mom. How could she not like me?<br/>"Well I told you before that she didn't like your music, even though I did. And she's kind of small minded, meaning she sees your muscles and boots and makes assumptions. We got into a fight about it. I think she doesn't trust what isn't familiar. But I don't have a problem with it," Viola reassured, seemingly trying to distance herself from her mom.<br/>Wow. How could Viola come from someone who reads 'different' as 'dangerous'? It kind of irritated me when people acted that way. For some reason, I'd thought that Viola's mom would be one that would accept me, seeing as how Viola hadn’t had a problem. Apparently not. Maybe I could get her dad to like me?<br/>"Yeah, I'd love to have some dinner that doesn't come out of a bag labeled 'Doritos'," I joked, smiling when she laughed.<br/>"I also owe you one for last night, I guess. Maybe we'll just heat up the macaroni you made," she called behind her as she walked into the house. I followed, ignoring the urge to watch her hips sway. I liked this friendship and I wasn't going to mess it up by thinking of her that way. <br/>Yeah, because it'd be that easy.<br/>"That works. It's probably the most real dinner I've had in awhile," I sighed, thinking back on all the bags of chips I'd gone through the past couple months. I was pretty sure that, if I hadn’t been working out this summer, I would've actually gained body fat.<br/>I fell down onto her faded brown sofa as she dug through the refrigerator. This couch was a nice change from the fancy leather one the Barton's had that felt like it should be in some corporate executive's office. This was more homey.<br/>It only took a few minutes for the macaroni to be reheated and for Viola to call me to the table. I felt kind of like a husband in the fifties whose wife had just called that dinner was ready. I shook off the random thought and went to the dining room, Viola's outfit reminding me that this was definitely not the fifties.<br/>"Enjoy," she said, gesturing to the bowl of the mac n' cheese I'd made last night.<br/>"I think I should be the one saying that. After all, I'm the one that made it," I pointed out in a teasing voice and she faux scowled at me, a smile threatening to appear.<br/>"Maybe that was the case last night, but I'm the one that heated it up tonight," she countered while spooning a portion into her bowl.<br/>"Throwing it in the microwave doesn't really make you Martha Stewart, V," I joked, taking the ladle and filling my bowl as well. She giggled at my reference to her nickname. I swear that giggle of hers was the cutest thing ever.<br/>"Agree to disagree, JD," she replied dismissively before taking a bite, eyes widening slightly. "Wow, this is actually good," she marvelled, taking another bite. I laughed at her shock that hadn't come around last night. Then again, when you're hammered it's hard to appreciate fine cuisine.<br/>"Yeah I'm pretty good at the whole cooking thing," I shrugged. ‘Well, someone had to make the food’ I thought dryly.<br/>"I'd say more than pretty good," she disagreed, putting more pasta into her bowl, "But your modesty is cute."<br/>She smiled at my frown, "Cute? Adorable? You're making me feel like a freaking Care Bear," I replied, only slightly joking. She tried to laugh around the food in her mouth but ended up choking on it instead.<br/>"I can't believe you just made a Care Bears reference," she laughed between coughs. I smiled at her infectious laughter and patted her back to try and keep her from choking any further.<br/>"Okay, I don't think the owner of a Spongebob video game has the right to make fun of me for that," I commented and she laughed slightly at herself.<br/>"True, but that Spongebob video game was too hard for you, wasn't it Mr. Ultimate Gamer?" she countered and I frowned. I'd tried multiple times to beat that one level all to no avail. Just thinking about it made me want to go home and try again.<br/>"Whatever, it's just a dumb game," I grumbled brusqely. Her eyes became amused and she pressed her lips together tightly before gathering her now empty bowl and heading to the kitchen.<br/>"I have another copy of it here," she hinted, poking her head into the dining room, "If you want to play."<br/>I watched her retreat before shoveling the rest of the food into my mouth and cleaning the table. I practically threw the empty dishes in the sink before heading to the living room. When I got there Viola already had the game set up.<br/>"I've completed all the levels," she bragged over her shoulder, "Which one did you get stuck on?" She started flipping through the levels until she got to the one I said. I didn't miss the laugh she tried to hide before pressing start.<br/>I watched as she easily got the characters to turn and jump over obstacles. I wasn't quite sure when my attention drifted from the TV to Viola, but suddenly I was aware of how awesome she looked. She was so beautiful when she dug her teeth into her bottom lip in concentration. It didn't matter what kind of game it was, this gamer girl was hot as fuck.<br/>"Yes!" she exclaimed, bringing me out of my thoughts. I refocused my attention on the screen. She had beaten the level in one try. What the fuck? I'd begun to think it was impossible. Then again, she'd had a lot more practice.<br/>"Okay, let me try," I demanded, leaning forward to take the controller out of her hands. I tried to mimic the exact way she'd done it but I always ran out of time. Viola's smirk became more and more pronounced with every expletive I called the game.<br/>I wasn't sure how long I'd been failing before Viola's head dropped onto my shoulder and I looked at her. She'd fallen asleep while we were playing. I hadn't even realized she was tired. I checked my watch and cursed under my breath. It was past midnight and she had to work the morning shift tomorrow. I gently shook her shoulder and she shot up.<br/>"What? What happened?" she asked quickly and I chuckled at the way her hair had obscured her face.<br/>"You just fell asleep," I told her, starting to put the game up, "It's time for me to go home and for you to go to bed."<br/>I stood up and turned to see Viola sagging back against the couch. I grabbed her hands and pulled her to stand. She rolled her eyes but started towards the stairs.<br/>"I don't have to help you up there tonight, do I?" I joked and she rolled her eyes again.<br/>"Ha ha, you're so funny," she said, tone dripping with sarcasm. I couldn't help but laugh when she actually did trip up the first stair. "Alright go home," she pointed out the door, "Tomorrow is the last day of the restoration and you should be rested."<br/>With that, she continued up the rest of the stairs with no trouble. As I walked outside, I thought about what she said. Tomorrow would be the last day of car trouble. It'd be the last day I'd have an excuse to see her on a regular basis. That sucked more than I'd realized it would.<br/>I shed off my dirty clothes and got in the shower, letting the hot water try to melt away my thoughts. I dragged my hands down my face then looked at them.<br/>They were large and calloused, tanned with lighter scars here and there. I couldn't help make the comparison to Viola. When I'd pulled her from the couch by her hands, I'd known she was the exact opposite. She was small and delicate. Pale and smooth. It reminded me of the Yin-Yang symbol.<br/>Maybe these two opposites would attract someday.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Sweet Dreams and Sweatpants</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola has a good day at work only that turns interesting when she joins James to work on the car.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola's POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Viola!" Mom called from downstairs, waking me up from a dreamless sleep.<br/>"What?" I grumbled. Wasn't it the weekend yet?<br/>"Mail's here!" she answered, a smile evident in her voice. "There seems to be a letter here from Los Angeles... Wonder what it's about," she trailed off with faux ignorance, baiting me.<br/>I shot out of bed, immediately awake. Today was the day I would hear back from my #1 choice of college. I wasn't all that religious, but I sent out a silent prayer as I ran downstairs.<br/>"Gimme, gimme, gimme," I said, ripping the envelope out of her hands. I gave myself a paper cut in my haste to get it open. Oh, well. I screamed when I read what was contained within.<br/>        	Dear Miss Viola Moretti,<br/>                    	We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Los Angeles Film School...<br/>I didn't even care what came after that first line. I got into art school! I was going to Los Angeles! I was leaving! Every single dream was going to come true. I hugged my mom tightly and ran back upstairs with the acceptance letter, looking for a frame...<br/>_________________________________________________________________</p><p>I woke up in peace for once. Finally, I'd had a good dream. Well, more like a memory. A memory that didn't include Colton at all. Finally. I quieted my alarm and dragged myself out of bed to get ready. Pants, polo, nametag. I walked down to breakfast in a blissful daze.<br/>I smiled when it looked like I actually had time to eat breakfast today. I poured Lucky Charms and milk into a bowl and sat down to eat my favorite cereal, savoring the breakfast that was probably 99 percent sugar. It was a good thing I had a high metabolism.<br/>Two quick honks outside alerted me that my breakfast had made me late. I practically threw the bowl in the sink and grabbed my purse. In my rush, I almost tripped into the side of James' Mustang. He was already laughing when I got the door open.<br/>"Shut up," I grumbled. He stopped laughing but kept the smile in place as he backed out of his driveway.<br/>"What's with you being late today?" he questioned once we were on the road.<br/>"Oh, I decided to have breakfast," I answered casually, prompting him to look at me strangely.<br/>"You don't normally eat breakfast?" he asked incredulously.<br/>"Calm down, it's not exactly a courtroom drama. I just don't usually have the time. Plus, the cook at work'll sometimes make me something. He's pretty cool like that," I explained. He rolled his eyes at the first part and pursed his lips.<br/>"No breakfast..." he trailed off, shaking his head.<br/>"Okay, I don't think Mr. I-Eat-Doritos-For-Every-Meal should be judging my eating habits," I countered and he just shrugged.<br/>"Doritos cover some good food groups, you know. You have the carbs with the actual tortilla chip. Dairy is covered by the cheese dust. And they are definitely junk food. That covers, what, like half of the food group?" he defended in a very scientific manner.<br/>"I don't think cheese dust counts as dairy," I laughed.<br/>"Does, too," he responded with a smile. "The same way french fries count as a vegetable," he continued as we pulled into the Benny's parking lot.<br/>"No. Just, no," I replied with a smile and a shake of my head. "I serve this stuff all day and I can promise you french fries do not count as vegetables," I denied as he came to a stop.<br/>"What would you classify them as, if not a vegetable?" he questioned?<br/>"I... Well... Um... Not a vegetable!" was all I could come up with and he grinned smugly.<br/>"That's what I thought. Now get inside before you're late," he reminded me, nodding towards the waiting diner. Oh, right. I had to leave. I wanted to ask him what he planned on doing for the day, but I figured that could wait until later.<br/>The entire day I found myself able to forget that Colton was with Hannah in the sluttiest place on earth. I just walked around waiting tables with the most charm I'd ever possessed. It felt pretty nice to not think about anything and I could only contribute it to my wonderful dream.<br/>"What's up with you today?" Ally asked when we took our breaks.<br/>"What do you mean?" I questioned back, even though I knew she was referring to my attitude change.<br/>"It's just that you seem like you actually enjoy being here," she explained dryly. "So what's up to make you all giddy?" she asked before her eyes blew wide. "Oh my God. You slept with the hot guy next door!" she guessed and I flinched at her imagination.<br/>"What? No, of course not. I just had a good dream, that's all. Plus, I've barely thought of Colton today, which was bound to improve my mood exponentially," I explained and she pursed her lips, disappointed.<br/>"So... if you're not gonna sleep with him, should I?" she hedged and I smacked her arm.<br/>"No! And you know as well as I do that you're not gonna lose it to someone you barely know," I pointed out and she frowned at how well I knew her.<br/>"Hey, if I were going to make an exception, it'd be with that guy," she countered and I just shrugged, allowing it.<br/>"I don't blame you for that," I giggled, picking up my tray and leaving the break room to avoid diving further into that conversation. The last three hours flew by as quick as the first, ending with a twenty dollar tip from a single family. Rich people were rather the best or the worst tippers, and these guys seemed to be the former.<br/>"You ready?" Ally came up behind me as I hung my apron up. I pocketed the rest of my cash and headed out with her, listening to her complain about the five dollar tip she got on a fifty dollar tab. It continued all the way until I was finally able to get out of the car.<br/>I'd noticed the sweltering sun today so I chose to change into jean short shorts and a cut-off Incredible Hulk t-shirt, tying my hair into a messy bun to keep it off my neck. When I made my way to the garage, James was already there.<br/>I was glad he hadn't noticed me yet, because I was frozen at the sight. I was used to him wearing  t-shirts when working on the car. Granted, his muscles still looked damn good, but they were slightly covered. I could think coherently.<br/>Today, however, he decided to wear a fitted wife beater and jeans. It was tighter than his t-shirt and left his broad shoulders completely bare to my eyes. He reminded me of Wolverine but hotter. I took a breath, controlling my reaction, and continued to walk.<br/>"Hey," I greeted, working to make my voice casual. He glanced up at me and smiled, seeming oblivious to my distraction.<br/>"How was work?" he asked, popping the hood when I took a seat on my stool. Work? I tried to remember. I looked down to gather my thoughts.<br/>"It was pretty good. I made seventy five dollars in tips," I replied, silently thanking that last family again.<br/>"Seventy five?" he asked, surprised. "That's a lot for six hours, right? Like, over ten bucks an hour. If you think about it, you're making more than minimum wage on tips alone," he noted and I just nodded. ‘Yep, there was a lot that was great about today’ I thought, giving him a once-over when he looked away.<br/>"Yeah, we had a lot of turnover today. I think there might've been a conference or something going on downtown. Plus I waited on one of the rich families," I shrugged and he laughed, seeming to know the type.<br/>"Congrats," he said before asking for another tool. I was proud that I knew which one to give him without having to be told.<br/>"Thanks. You know, I'm learning a lot from you by doing this. I won't be able to actually do what you're doing, but I know the tools and I know what the tuning belt does," I pointed out, confused when he stopped his work to laugh. "What?" I questioned.<br/>"Timing belt," he corrected. "You know what a timing belt does," he explained, getting back to work.<br/>"Tuning belt, timing belt, whatever," I grumbled.<br/>"Well, congratulations, you could be a professional jack now," he replied, still smiling.<br/>"So what'd you do today?" I asked, bringing back the question I'd wanted to ask this morning.<br/>"Nothing much. I actually went over to Bristol to see if there was anything to do there. Met some people. Nancy keeps insisting human contact is important," he answered dryly.<br/>"What, is that not what we've been doing?" I countered, crossing my arms.<br/>"Well, while this is great, I thought talking to a variety of people would help even more," he explained and I felt a flash of unjustifiable anger. "After all, I'm not the only human contact you've had, either," he pointed out when I didn't answer.<br/>"Who'd you meet?" I asked to start a conversation again.<br/>"A few people. Their names were Aaron, Colby, and another Erin. The first one was a guy, the second one was Colby's girlfriend. I was just walking the park and they invited me to hang out with them. It was a pretty good day," he shrugged, eyes never straying from the engine.<br/>"So I guess both of our days went pretty well, huh?" I concluded and he agreed. "And tonight my baby'll be finished and I'll be able to drive again," I practically sang.<br/>"And I'll be able to sleep in again," he added wryly and I rolled my eyes, smiling.<br/>"Sorry for making you do all this," I said sincerely, gesturing to the car.<br/>"It's not a problem. It's actually been kind of fun. I have something to do besides lay around and wait for summer to be over. Plus, I like working on cars," he replied. "By the way, I would have fixed it even if you weren't my jack. Sorry for forcing you into the role," he stared at the engine as he spoke and I blinked.<br/>"It's okay. It's been fun and it also took my mind off of..." I trailed off, knowing I didn't have to finish for him to understand.<br/>"How's that going, by the way?" he asked. "I mean, this was supposed to be an experiment about how you'd do without him," he reminded me.<br/>"It's not bad, actually. Obviously it's been better than it was a couple days ago. I think the reason I got so many tips today is because I wasn't thinking about him, so my mood was greatly increased," I told him. It felt easier to talk about this with him than I would've imagined.<br/>"Well, that's good. It means you'll probably be able to survive without him when summer's over," he replied, looking at me as if to make sure he knew he was actually listening.<br/>"Yeah," I agreed. "But enough about him. Let's put on some music," I suggested, not giving him a chance to deny before I was running upstairs to grab my speaker and bring it down to the garage. I set it up quickly and started with Just the Girl. He laughed lightly at my choice.<br/>"You really like this song," he noted after I turned it down to just background music.<br/>"I recognize the story. You know, the guy wants the girl that isn't interested because it makes her different. Seems to happen every time," I shrugged before voicing a thought only my diary knew. "You know, I've always wanted to be the girl in a song like this. The girl someone would base a song on. Unless it was new Taylor Swift, though. All her love songs just trash talk her exes," I joked to deflect my candid confession.<br/>"I think everyone wants that on some level. It's one of the small but meaningful things that make someone feel, I don't know, appreciated," he agreed to my relief. I'd been afraid he would tease me.<br/>"So I've been wondering..." I started, changing the subject.<br/>"What have you been wondering?" he responded.<br/>"I've found that most people who like rock music also like action and adventure-type movies because of all the fast pace and exciting nature. Do you fall into that category?" I asked, trading out his tool.<br/>"Alright, first, you sound like you're taking a poll," he joked and I narrowed my eyes. "Secondly, no," he answered before elaborating, "I like horror movies."<br/>"Huh, that's unexpected," I noted and he looked up at me, raising an eyebrow.<br/>"What did you expect, Fifty Shades of Grey?" he teased sarcastically.<br/>"I guess I expected comedy," I mused. "It was just a feeling," I added when he looked like he was about to ask why.<br/>"So is that your favorite? Comedy?" he inquired, getting back to work.<br/>"Look at this shirt. Look at all my shirts. Look at my books. I like sci-fi," I stated, assuming mine would've been obvious.<br/>"Huh, I guess you’re right. So is it just the Superhero sci-fi that you like?" he questioned.<br/>"No, I like pretty much all sci-fi. From Predator to Avatar, I like 'em all," I explained with a shrug. "I just like the alternate reality of it."<br/>"You know, I never saw that Avatar movie," he commented and I felt myself ready to fall off my stool in shock.<br/>"Well that was dramatic," he replied wryly along with an eye roll.<br/>"I don't think so," I disagreed. "Avatar is one of the best movies ever," I gushed passionately. Avatar was in my top five favorites.<br/>"Do you honestly think it could be better than the first Saw?" he asked dubiously. I scoffed dismissively in response and he looked at me. "Have you even seen Saw?"<br/>"I... Well... No, but it can't be better. It just can't," I protested, crossing my arms and jutting out my chin.<br/>"Not that that’s not a damning argument," he started sarcastically, "But I think we should have some sort of bet about this."<br/>"What do you mean?" I inquired, relaxing my stance as curiosity bloomed.<br/>"I mean I think we should watch each other's movies and we'll see whose is better," he suggested confidently.<br/>"What would the bet be?" I inquired, interested.<br/>"Well, if you end up liking Saw better than your precious Avatar, you have to... do the whole naked 5k thing," he finished, seeming satisfied.<br/>"What?!" I shrieked, not knowing what that was but I didn't think anything that had the word 'naked' in it wouldn't be fun for me. "What is that?" I demanded.<br/>"Well, you have to run a 5k in nothing but your underwear," he replied cockily. I decided not to accept or deny until learning what his punishment would be.<br/>"What happens if you like Avatar more?" I hedged.<br/>"Hmmm... I'd do it," he offered, seeming horrified by the idea. Maybe too horrified.<br/>"Um, no. I know you don't have a problem running around in your underwear. You're too proud of your body," I disagreed and he smiled. "No... you have to run the 5k... in Colton's clothes," I decided, laughing at the obvious horror that crossed his expression.<br/>"Would you risk it?" he asked after a moment of deliberation. I bit my lip, hesitating. I had never done something so bold in my life.<br/>"What if neither of us change our minds?" I inquired and he shrugged.<br/>"Neither of us would do our punishments," he answered.<br/>"What if we both change our minds?" I asked dubiously and he smiled and purposely looked me up and down.<br/>"We'd do our punishments together," he grinned, and I blushed. The way he looked at me made me have the urge to cover myself, like I was already in my underwear. I puffed my chest out, trying to fake bravery.<br/>"Fine. I have faith in the power of Avatar," I agreed boldly.<br/>"Then it's a deal," he confirmed, holding out a hand to shake. I took it stupidly thinking and he laughed at my expression when my hand came away black with grease. Before I thought about repercussions, I was wiping it on his dirty shirt to punish him.<br/>However, somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd forgotten how his outfit had affected me. As soon as I was actually touching the muscles, it was the only thing I was focusing on again. Suddenly he was gingerly pulling my wrist away from his pecs where it had stopped moving and was just resting over his heart.<br/>I blinked, seeing his smug expression. I stumbled slightly as I backed away, fleeing inside. In the time it took me to grab a clean towel and wipe off my hand, I had cleared my mind of his hotness and was too determined to walk back to the garage with my head held high.<br/>"You okay?" he asked when I took my seat again.<br/>"Absolutely fine," I answered casually, not making eye contact. He was smiling down at his work so I decided to change the subject.<br/>"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" I asked, obviously catching him off guard.<br/>"What do you mean?" he responded, eyebrows pulling in.<br/>"I feel like that question is self explanatory," I stated. "I don't plan on celebrating the rebirth of my car by just driving to work," I informed him.<br/>"Where do you want to drive?" he questioned, still off-put.<br/>"I don't know..." I replied, searching my brain for a decent place to go.<br/>"Where do people around here go to celebrate something?" he asked.<br/>"We celebrated graduation at the lake," I noted, becoming increasingly excited by the idea. "Oh, and you didn't go last time. It'll be so much more fun, too, because there won't be, like, two hundred people there!" I gushed, seeing him grin at my enthusiasm.<br/>"Alright, the lake it is," he agreed. "Now, it's time for you to lose the bet because," he started, closing the hood and continuing, "I'm done."<br/>"Done?" I asked hopefully.<br/>"Done," he confirmed, wiping his hands on his shirt for the final time. I squealed like a girl and hopped off my stool, practically running to the drivers side.<br/>"Get in! Get in!" I insisted, ducking into my seat and starting it. It was funny to watch him grunt as he folded himself up in the passenger seat. I hesitantly turned the key and heard the engine purr to life, sounding better than ever.<br/>"Do we have to drive this car tomorrow?" he complained from his uncomfortable position.<br/>"Yep, 'cause it's a celebration of her rebirth," I stated.<br/>"You keep calling it 'her'. What's her actual name?" he asked, trying to get comfortable as I backed out of the garage.<br/>"Lucy," I answered simply.<br/>"Why Lucy?" he questioned.<br/>"I don't know," I huffed. "Why did you name your car Robert?" I threw his question back at him.<br/>"Because Bob Dylan. That's why. And how did you know his name?" he asked as I left the subdivision.<br/>"Colton told me. I asked about your car once and he thought it was funny you gave it a name. I elected to not mention I'd also named my car," I tacked on, biting my lip.<br/>"Like you elected to not mention your taste in music," he quipped dryly and I pointedly ignored him.<br/>"So do you have a swimsuit to go to the beach in?" I asked, changing the topic.<br/>"Oh, uh, no actually," he answered, seeming embarrassed. I didn't say anything as I pulled into the Walmart parking lot and parked in the closest spot I could find.<br/>"Why are we here?" he questioned as I turned the engine off.<br/>"You need a swimsuit," I replied. Obviously.<br/>"What? I'm not going to buy a swimsuit," he protested and I rolled my eyes.<br/>"Fine, then. I’ll buy it for you," I stated, getting out of the car. He followed reluctantly.<br/>"I don't need you to buy me a swimsuit, Mom," he said sarcastically. I turned to face his bad attitude in the parking lot.<br/>"Yes, you do. We're going to have a perfect celebration tomorrow and we can't do that without a swimsuit. Now, I'm getting you one and, unless you want it to be a pink Speedo, you'll come pick it out," I told him, keeping my tone even the entire time. He frowned but followed me as I turned to head inside.<br/>"Fine, I'll get a swimsuit. But you're not going to be the one paying for it," he grumbled. I looked at him, ready to protest, but he had that male pride in his eyes so I decided not to push it. Besides, I could use that money to buy myself one.<br/>"Alright. You go get yours and I'll get mine," I sighed before departing.<br/>Due to the season, there were racks and racks of swimsuits. I decided I'd go with a bikini again, though there were cute one pieces, because I wanted to get a tan again. Or at least once. I decided to focus on the green ones, needing some sort of filter if I was ever going to get through them all.<br/>However, I also didn't think I should get another army suit. I finally found one that I thought was cute. It was an inverse string bikini. The top was green with black strings and the bottom was black with green strings. It reminded me of the girl villain on Kim Possible.<br/>I saw James heading out just as I came to check out. When I followed he was waiting, leaning against the car like the guy in 16 Candles. He sighed when I approached the drivers side and unlocked the doors.<br/>"I've been waiting here for, like, twenty minutes," he complained and I scoffed.<br/>"Whatever, I saw you leaving when I was checking out. You might've been out here for five minutes," I contradicted as we both took our seats in the car.<br/>"Five. Twenty. Is there really that much of a difference?" he joked in mock seriousness.<br/>"Only about 900 seconds," I muttered in response and he raised an eyebrow. "So what swimsuit did you get?" I asked, curious. He pulled a pair of plain black swim trunks with a hot pink string tying the waist together. I let out a short laugh before returning my eyes to the road.<br/>"Like them? I thought I'd take your little pink speedo idea and adapt it," he joked, putting them back in the plastic bag.<br/>"Love them," I giggled, fiercely glad I made that joke.<br/>"What'd you get?" he asked, reaching for my bag. My effort to stop him made me veer slightly, causing him to press back into his seat.<br/>"I don't wanna show you," I admitted self consciously. "I don't want you to think I'm some kind of slut or something," I added. This was pretty much the only risque bikini I owned.<br/>"You? A slut? I doubt any swimsuit would make me think that," he stated plainly. I peeked down at the thin strings, dubious.<br/>"Either way, you're not seeing it unless I'm brave enough to wear it tomorrow," I sighed, knowing what the likelihood of that happening would be.<br/>"You know, I think you are very, very brave. I don't think anything should stop you from wearing that swimsuit," he joked suggestively.<br/>"Hmmm... I wonder why you'd think that?" I pretended to think hard as I pulled back into the garage. He laughed, unashamed.<br/>"I'm actually going to go take a shower before we start the whole movie thing, okay? I just don't feel like your mom would like me getting grease stains on your couch. Plus, if I dress more modestly, you might be able to keep your hands off me," he joked, referring to earlier for the first time.<br/>I flushed as I got out of the car, walking straight past him into the house. I really hoped that would never be brought up again. And I really, really hoped he'd never tell anyone that it'd happened. I was mortified just thinking about it.<br/>I heard a knock on the door just as I slid the Avatar disc into the DVD player. "Come in," I called over my shoulder. I turned to see he had entered and had already made himself comfortable on the couch.<br/>His hair was still wet and he had on a grey t-shirt and black sweatpants. Yep. He looked even sexier in sweatpants than he did in jeans. And I had to sit next to him on the couch for the next five hours. Kill me.<br/>"Are you ready to have a new favorite movie?" I questioned confidently, striding into the kitchen to pop some popcorn as I heard the previews start. I hesitated before deciding to pop another. Us each having our own bag would make this feel less like a date.<br/>"Took you long enough," he muttered teasingly when I reappeared. "The movie already started."<br/>"Well if you didn't want popcorn you should've told me," I retorted, throwing his bag at him. "Now shut up and watch it," I ordered, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch and quickly getting lost in the movie. By the time it was over, my bag was long empty.<br/>"So?" I asked hopefully, "What'd you think?"<br/>"It was a really good movie," he confirmed and I smiled smugly until he continued, "But not better then Saw." My smile dropped and all I could hope was that I hated his movie. "Alright, now it's time for you to seal your naked 5k fate," he grinned, picking up the disc that he'd brought and moving to replace Avatar.<br/>I settled in to watch the new movie, careful to keep the length of the couch between us. However, I realized about halfway through the movie that I was curled up next to him and hiding my face in his shoulder at the scary parts. I decided I would chastise myself later, right then I needed someone to keep me safe.<br/>"So? Do you have a new favorite movie?" he asked confidently after it was over. I realized I was still snuggled up next to him and immediately leaned away.<br/>"Let's see, considering I spent a good portion of it covering my eyes, I'm gonna go with no," I replied sarcastically.<br/>"That's why you were all up on me? And here I thought it was just my charms that lured you over," he joked then sighed dramatically. "It sucks, though. I was really looking forward to seeing you run around in your underwear," he admitted with faux sadness.<br/>"I was looking forward to seeing you run around in Colton's clothes," I shot back. "But I guess we're both gonna have to be disappointed," I finished, picking up our empty popcorn bags to throw away.<br/>"I can't believe I bet that in the first place. I thought the threat of death would be the only thing able to get me to wear his God-awful pastel Polo's," he sighed, shaking his head.<br/>"But all it really took was the 50/50 chance you'd get to see me in my underwear," I replied and his mouth lifted into a smile before he looked down, checking his watch.<br/>"Well, I should probably go," he stated, looking disappointed.<br/>"Do you want something to eat?" I offered, idly wondering if I even had anything but macaroni and crackers.<br/>"No, thanks. The popcorn was good enough," he assured me, getting up and walking away while I still sat on the couch. I sighed deeply and heaved myself off the couch when I heard the front door close, heading upstairs for my nightly shower.<br/>As I stepped under the spray I remembered how James' hair had looked, all glistening with water as he lounged casually. And those damn sweatpants that rode lower on his hips than his jeans did.<br/>Then I imagined him in Colton's clothes and chuckled. It was strange to think about and it led me to comparing the two guys. They were both hot, but I had to admit that James was more so. And it was strange to think they were related, since they were polar opposites of each other. I wondered how I could connect so well with both of them if they were so different?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Celebrating Lucy's Liberation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James and Viola celebrate her car being fixed with a day at the lake that ends unexpectedly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beep! Beep!<br/>
An annoying car horn blared from outside, waking me up. I looked at my alarm clock. Nine am. I thought this girl wasn’t a morning person? I got up slowly to see her already in her car, waiting. Jesus Christ.<br/>
I replaced my pants and boxers with the new trunks I'd gotten, leaving my t-shirt on. I decided, since we were going to a lake, that there was no need to do my hair, so I settled for just running a hand through it and brushing my teeth before walking downstairs, slipping on a pair of flip flops. I wanted to dismantle her horn when it blared again as I walked outside.<br/>
"Viola, that is the most annoying sound I've ever heard," I commented after I fit myself into the tiny car. My knees were almost fully bent and I had to duck my head slightly. It was the perfect size for her; not so much for me.<br/>
"But it wakes you up, doesn’t it?" she replied, backing out of the Barton's driveway.<br/>
I fully looked her over for the first time. She was wearing a dress to cover whatever swimsuit she'd chosen and her hair was parted into two loose braids for the first time.<br/>
"You know what could also wake me up? A phone call," I grumbled, trying to shake off the last of my tiredness.<br/>
"Ah, but how fun is that for me after what you did last night?" she questioned, still sounding giddy.<br/>
"What'd I do last night?" I asked, slouching down slightly so I could lean my head against the headrest.<br/>
"Scared the crap out of me. I had a nightmare about Jigsaw," she scolded me, making me grin.<br/>
"Sorry," I lied.<br/>
"Yeah, that apology seems really sincere when you're smiling," she replied sarcastically, veering slightly when she smacked my arm.<br/>
"Jesus. If I promise to not say anything smack-worthy, will you focus on driving?" I asked, heart beating faster than usual as she refocused.<br/>
"Fine," she sighed as though it was a great burden, reaching to turn the music up. Linkin Park wasn't my favorite, but I knew it well enough to sing along while I looked out the window. I could feel Viola's gaze turn to me but I didn't care. Let her stare.<br/>
It was fourteen songs later that she finally pulled off onto a little dirt road.  I guess that meant we were there. Viola turned the car off and I got out, stretching every muscle I had to keep them from being permanently cramped.<br/>
I looked over the top of the car and saw the lake. It was totally secluded, not a soul in sight. I smiled at the thought. She'd probably act normal if we were alone. I followed her to the trunk where she had stored what looked to be the perfect beach day. There was a cooler and towels and things to play with.<br/>
"Damn, you really did want this to be a celebration," I commented, looking up to see her proud smile and nod. After a moment I pushed away from the car and started towards the shore, barely pausing to take off my shirt.<br/>
I turned to see Viola laying one of the towels down in the perfect tanning position, still wearing the cover up.<br/>
"What are you doing?" I asked, walking back to where she stood.<br/>
"I wanna get a tan," she explained and I almost laughed.<br/>
"V, I'm not trying to be offensive, but your skin doesn't tan," I stated plainly.<br/>
"How do you know what my skin does?" she retorted, offended.<br/>
"I just do. Plus, you shouldn't want a tan," I said honestly. "Your whole light skin dark hair thing is awesome," I assured her.<br/>
"Fine. I won't try to tan," she pouted, crossing her arms over her cover-up.<br/>
"Does that mean you're going to swim?" I asked hopefully.<br/>
"Okay, just let me go put this up," she sighed, biting her lip over her slight smile. It was awesome when she did that. I turned back to the lake and jogged until I was waist deep in water. It probably would've felt uncomfortably cool if the sun wasn't beating down so hard.<br/>
After a moment of getting used to it, I turned and saw Viola standing in front of the open trunk. My eyes landed on her just in time for her to pull the coverup over her head in one smooth motion. Holy shit. Her tiny swimsuit almost looked like camouflage from where I stood, covering only what was necessary. I understood why she thought it was slutty.<br/>
She threw the coverup in the trunk and started towards the shore. I had a feeling she was purposefully looking at the ground all the way up to the water edge, where she finally met my eyes. And then immediately checked out the rest of me.<br/>
I saw the blush heat her entire body before she bit down on her lip, looking ready to run. I prepared for when she did, moving forward. She ran away like a startled deer and I caught up to her in no time, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back to the water while she squealed in protest.<br/>
"Why'd you run, V?" I asked when she was calm enough for me to let go.<br/>
"Water was too cold," she lied quickly after a moment of hesitation, turning so that she faced me.<br/>
"Uh-huh. Right," I replied dubiously.<br/>
"You were staring, too," she accused defensively. I pursed my lips. She was right.<br/>
"Yeah, because you're hot as Hell," I responded lightly, unrepentant. Her mouth fell open, obviously not having expected me to own up to it.<br/>
"Well, I've told you multiple times that you're undeniably hot, so excuse me for staring, even if you are wearing a pink swimsuit," she joked and I smiled at her admission. Hearing that never got old.<br/>
"It's predominantly black," I protested, splashing her.<br/>
"I choose to focus on the pink, though. It’s more fun," she contradicted, splashing me back.<br/>
And so the day continued. We hung out in the water until our fingers were pruned and I took every opportunity I had to check her out in a non-creepy way. She was so dainty but still had curves.<br/>
"Alright! I give in! You win the splashing contest," she said, moving to exit the lake. I followed shortly after, not making much of an effort to keep from staring at the sway of her hips. "Would you quit gawking," she sighed, sitting down.<br/>
"What? I'm not gawking," I lied, unsure how she’d noticed.<br/>
"You think I don't see it, but I do," she continued, not acknowledging my denial. I decided not to argue further and took a seat next to her. "JD?" she asked in a more serious tone.<br/>
"Yeah?" I responded.<br/>
"Why are you so fit?" she questioned. I didn't answer. She didn't need to know. "I know you're not comfortable talking about it. I remember. But that's what friendship is. It's being able to talk to someone about the uncomfortable things," she continued, sounding strangely older than me. I didn’t answer right away. This wasn’t the same as talking about music. This was some heavy-duty shit.<br/>
"My, uh, my dad drank," I told her quietly, staring at the ground. "He wasn't a happy drunk," I tacked on, hoping it was enough explanation. I peeked to see her reaction. Her hands covered her face.<br/>
"And there I was coming home black out drunk. You must've thought I was a terrible person," she sighed into her palms.<br/>
"I didn't think you were terrible. Ever. I'll admit, I was disappointed. I hadn't thought you were the type to do something like that. But I never thought you were terrible," I assured her. She moved her hand slightly to see my expression. There was a minute of silence.<br/>
"Where was your mom?" she asked quietly, looking at the water.<br/>
"They split up when I was a kid. She moved away and never looked back," I sighed.<br/>
"I'm sorry," she apologized softly and I shrugged. I'd never had the time or energy to think about my mom. She wasn't worth it.<br/>
"It's fine. I've gotten over it," I told her. "So what's your story, then?"<br/>
"My story..." she started, seeming to think about it. "I've lived here my whole life. My dad died when I was in sixth grade. He was in the Marine Corp. for most of my childhood. My mom tried to keep it together, but she was just a teacher and, like you said, we live in a rich neighborhood. It's been easier ever since I was able to work. I help with the bills and stuff," she explained and I pondered how similar our backgrounds were. Both of us were forced to work to help take care of our parents. Both of us lost a parent, though hers was a much more tragic loss.<br/>
Thinking about that death made me uneasy. Her dad had died doing what I was going to have to do someday. We were becoming closer now. What if I was called away? What if I...? Damn.<br/>
"I get that. When my dad drank, I had to pay the bills. That's why I became a mechanic. Back then, it wasn't just me doing it because I thought it was fun," I let out a hard laugh. "Do you remember when you said you worked hard so you could keep the house you grew up in?" I asked, looking at my bare feet.<br/>
"Yeah, though what I actually meant was that I wanted to keep the house my dad lived in," she answered.<br/>
"We couldn't afford to keep the house I grew up in. We had to move to an apartment," I mumbled. I really missed that house.<br/>
"We're kinda two sides of the same coin, you know?" she noted, putting words to my previous thoughts.<br/>
"I was thinking the same," I agreed, stiffening slightly in surprise when she leaned her head on my shoulder, bringing her knees up to her chest.<br/>
"I never really had someone to talk to about this stuff," she sighed before continuing, "Thank you for that."<br/>
"Two sides of the same coin," I repeated softly and she hummed. The atmosphere grew silent before my thoughts took me down a different road.<br/>
"V? Why do you like Colton so much? As more than a friend, I mean," I asked in the least judgmental tone I could muster. She straightened up to look at me.<br/>
"What?" she questioned back.<br/>
"I mean, what about him makes you like him so much?" I clarified, baffled as to how she could find someone like him attractive beyond just looks.<br/>
There was a long silence while Viola seemed to try and come up with an answer. Eventually, she shook her head. "I just do," she mumbled. I wanted to press for more, seeing an internal battle in her eyes, but I didn't. She wanted today to be perfect.<br/>
"Do you know what's missing from today's perfect day?" I asked when she'd been quiet for too long.<br/>
"What?" she inquired lazily.<br/>
"Food. I'm starving," I stated and she seemed to brighten. I quickly stood and put out my hands to help her do the same. My hands practically dwarfed hers and it was a strange turn on.<br/>
"I made a bunch of sandwiches, got soda, and I also brought Doritos,'' she said with a wink, running ahead of me to the car.<br/>
I dug through the cooler until I found a turkey and cheese sandwich before I moved to the cooler with the drinks.<br/>
"Pepsi!" I exclaimed, way to relieved.<br/>
"Of course! Coke sucks," she confirmed. Awesome. This girl was awesome.<br/>
We sat in the car to escape the heat while we ate. I talked about my favorite food places in LA and she cringed when I mentioned sushi. That started a whole debate about how good sushi was until, like most arguments, we called a draw. I had eaten five sandwiches before I decided I was full. She ate two.<br/>
"Your car is too small," I complained as I tried to situate myself comfortably in the passenger seat.<br/>
"Maybe you're too big," she countered. "What was it you said before? 300 pounds?" she reminded me.<br/>
"Actually, you said that before, and I disagreed. I'll have you know I'm weighing at a nice 180 nowadays, and it's all height and muscle.”<br/>
"Don't forget ego," she added dryly. I allowed it, shrugging.<br/>
"Are you ready to get back out there?" I hedged, nodding towards the sparkling water and seeing that the sun was lower in the sky than I'd thought. I looked at the radio that said it was already five thirty. What the Hell?<br/>
"What about the whole 'you can't swim after you eat’?" she protested. I thought for a moment. I didn't believe the superstitious stuff, but I didn't see a point in arguing.<br/>
"Well, what about all the stuff in the trunk? We don't have to swim," I suggested, jutting my thumb towards the back of the car.<br/>
"I guess," she agreed with a shrug, turning the car off and getting out while I followed suit.<br/>
Viola had packed foam football, foam soccer ball, foam baseball, a volleyball, and Frisbee, and tennis supplies.<br/>
"How long did you think we were going to be out here?" I questioned, laughing at her preparation.<br/>
"I didn't know what we'd wanna do so I just got everything," she defended flippantly. "So, what first?" she continued, gesturing to the trunk.<br/>
"I played baseball when I was six. Let's toss that around," I responded with a shrug.<br/>
"Baseball it is..." she said uneasily. I immediately understood her displeasure when she dropped an easy pass and couldn't throw to save her life. Every time I laughed she got more frustrated until she gave up, claiming it had been thirty minutes and we were safe to go swimming again.<br/>
And so we swam. I wasn't sure why she wanted to initiate a bunch of challenges with me, but she did. Who could swim out the farthest, who could tread water longer? I won all of them.<br/>
She didn't seem to notice when she started shivering in the water, but I did. The sun had become less brutal the further it went down and it wasn't enough to make the cool water bearable.<br/>
"Let's get out," I suggested after I beat her at 'who could stay underwater longer?'.<br/>
"What? Why?" she complained, sinking further into the lake.<br/>
"Because the water is too cold," I answered, already heading to the shore. She took a step back for every step I took forward. "Come on, V! You're going to freeze," I pointed out, grabbing a towel off the shore to dry myself.<br/>
"If I get out, that means we've gotta go home," she whined dramatically. "And today has been so fun!"<br/>
"It had to end eventually," I sighed, unable to disagree.<br/>
"Stupid rotating planet," I heard her mutter as she swam nearer to me, finally getting out completely and wrapping a towel around herself.<br/>
"We might want to start heading back anyways. It's a long drive if you remember correctly," I reminded her, dragging the towel over my hair to dry it out a little.<br/>
"I was honestly only listening to you sing the whole way so I didn't notice much," she replied with a shrug, unrepentant when I raised an eyebrow.<br/>
"I just think we should go before it gets too dark," I continued, grabbing the ball where it had been left unattended.<br/>
"Fine. I guess the lake isn't going anywhere," she relented, trudging back to the car next to me. It was my turn to be reluctant when I realized I was going to have to cram my body in the car for over an hour. Fuck.<br/>
"Change your mind?" she inquired hopefully, hand on the door handle.<br/>
"Nah, I just hate your car," I replied before quickly ducking to slide into the seat. She was scowling when she followed suit and turned on the engine, pulling off the dirt road.<br/>
"There is nothing wrong with my car, thank you very much," she said, petting the dashboard.<br/>
"Tell that to my spine," I replied sarcastically.<br/>
"This car is perfect," she responded stubbornly.<br/>
"Do you know how many parts of it's engine should've been replaced by now?" I countered and her pride faltered, frowning slightly as she looked at me.<br/>
"Is she going to break down again?" she asked, biting down on her lip and glancing back and forth between me and the road.<br/>
"If you don't replace the parts then yes," I told her, struggling to find a comfortable position.<br/>
"Quit wiggling," she scolded before continuing. "When will it break down?" she continued questioning.<br/>
"I don't know when, I just know that it will," I said and I did as she'd asked.<br/>
"Will you fix it for me when it does?" she questioned hesitantly. She wasn't presuming I would, she was actually asking me to do her a favor.<br/>
"Sure," I agreed and she visibly relaxed. "I just hope it doesn't break down when you're driving to LA," I muttered.<br/>
"Would you still fix it?" she hedged, smiling slightly.<br/>
"You're kind of making me feel like the guy from Holes," I joked. "'There's a hole in the ceiling', 'this door won't hang right'," I mimicked, making my voice higher before continuing in a low voice, "'I can fix that'." She burst into giggles, swerving slightly.<br/>
"Well, you two are similar. Very handy," she replied, still smiling.<br/>
"Just don't go asking me to start growing onions," I grumbled, causing the giggles to start again.<br/>
"That's one of the movies I like that isn't sci-fi. Stanley Yelnats and the family curse. It helped a little that I always found Hector adorable," she replied.<br/>
"Which one was Hector, again?" I asked, unable to remember the names of anyone other than the main character.<br/>
"He was the one they called Zero for most of the movie. Shia LaBuff taught him to read and then he smacked the boss with a shovel and ran out into the desert alone," she explained, eyes flitting to me to see if she had to keep explaining.<br/>
"Huh, guess I didn't remember his actual name," I said with a shrug, idly wondering how we'd gone from complaining about her car to talking about a movie I hadn’t seen in years.<br/>
"JD? If you could give yourself a name, what would you choose?" she asked randomly.<br/>
"I... don't know," I responded, trying to make sense of her strange question. "What would you name yourself?" I inquired.<br/>
"Rosilyn," she answered, obviously having already thought about this.<br/>
"Why Rosilyn? I'm not sure I've even heard of anyone with that name," I pointed out.<br/>
"Exactly. It would be a little thing that would make me different. Plus, it's pretty," she shrugged lightly, eyes never straying from the road.<br/>
"You think you need something to make you more different?" I asked dubiously, assuming it was a joke. She looked at me, completely serious.<br/>
"JD, I’m no different than anyone else. In high school, I was literally just a face in the crowd. I wasn't popular, much to Colton's dismay I might add, but I wasn't unpopular either. I just floated along in the middle," she explained, tilting her head thoughtfully and swerving again. I was about to tell her to pull the car over so I could drive.<br/>
As it was, I just sat there, completely uncomfortable and completely dumbstruck. I tried to think of how she was anything but different. When she'd explained her thought process, she'd really only looked at how people looked at her social status.<br/>
I could've filled an entire page with everything that made her different, even if I didn't include how awesome her career ambitions and music genre were. She was kind. She was funny. She was cool. She was real. As jealous as she must've been of Hannah, she'd never said a cross word about the girl.<br/>
We were pulling into the driveway before she spoke again.<br/>
"Thank you for today, JD," she started softly, looking at the steering wheel. "And I don't think I ever properly thanked you for fixing my car in the first place, so thank you again," she said with a half-smile. I ignored her and started saying what had been going through my head for the past forty five minutes.<br/>
"V, you don't have to change your name to be different," I told her now that she could look at me and understand I wasn't just saying it to please her. "You're already different. Sure, you were one face in a crowd. But you were one of the most beautiful ones in that crowd. And look at how much you lie to Ally and Colton about how different you are. They don't know you like rock music. They don't know that you can't talk to them like you talk to me. You don't tell them because you think they would think you were weird. Or, in other words, different," I explained, stopping once I realized I was getting too heated. Her eyes were bigger than ever.<br/>
"You think I'm beautiful?" she finally asked in a shy voice. I thought back. Had I said that aloud? Oops.<br/>
"Well, yeah. I mean, the hair... the eyes," I muttered, embarrassed at my slip. When I met her eyes again, there was something different than before. I was about to kiss- My thoughts cut off when I remembered Colton. He hadn't even wanted me to talk to her. And she was totally in love with him. What was I doing? I had to stop this before it only got worse.<br/>
"Thanks for taking me to the lake," I mumbled loudly in comparison to my earlier words. She blinked at the sudden change as I leaned away, grabbing the door handle and stepping out of the car to stretch.<br/>
"Oh, um, you're welcome," she stuttered, taking the keys out of the ignition and getting out.<br/>
With one slightly awkward wave, I made my way back to the house and didn't stop until I was safe in Josh's room. I ran my hands through my hair, pacing. This was going to end badly. Colton might try to kill me if I'd kissed her. Not that he would succeed, but he'd still try.<br/>
That was it. Her car was fixed. We'd celebrated it. I had no legitimate reason to hang out with her again. I could just spend the rest of the summer in my room like I had for a month before this whole mess started, right?<br/>
Could I just lock myself up here while she was right next door? Would I be able to say no if she came over here to hang out? I wasn't sure. So, I needed a plan.<br/>
As long as I was busy with something else, I wouldn't be able to spend time with her. I could just not be at the house. I could drive over to Bristol again to hang out with the guys. And girl. After all, they had given me their numbers. Even if they didn't want to, I'd still go.<br/>
So that was it. That was my plan. Plus, I'd only have to do it for a few more days until Colton got back and took up her time again. I'd be fine. She'd be fine. We'd all be fine. I sighed, reaching over to close the blinds. It was easier to stick with the plan if I didn't give myself the opportunity to see her through her window.<br/>
I changed into boxers and fell straight into bed. I didn't care if it was only 8:30. I didn't care that I had dried lake water all over me. I was too physically and mentally exhausted to care about anything but sleep.<br/>
My eyes closed automatically and Viola popped up, uninvited. I tried to will the image of her away, but the day she'd worn that crop top and the time she'd started changing right in front of me played over and over again. I felt the ghost of her hand on my chest the time she wiped oil on my shirt. ‘Shit’ was the last thing I thought before unconsciousness overcame me.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Morning After Regrets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola worries her friendship with James is ruined after the events in the car last night.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>My eyes opened to rays of sun streaming through my window. I smiled to myself, realizing I hadn't had a single dream last night. I stretched languidly and slid out from under the covers, telling myself not to look out the window. I didn't listen and peeked out to see that James' blinds were closed for the first time since... ever.<br/>I frowned and remembered last night's departure. He didn't even really say goodbye. He didn't make any little comments to make me blush. He just left after dropping the biggest compliment I'd ever gotten. The compliment that had made me want to lean closer and touch my lips to his, just to see if they were as sweet as his words...<br/>I shook my head. No. I'd just been caught up in the moment. But an uneasiness in my stomach made me uncomfortable as I got ready for work. I looked at the clock and saw that I actually had time for breakfast again. I sat down with a bowl of cereal.<br/>Five minutes later, I didn't hear a horn signalling that I was late. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. James would've honked by now, right? Oh, wait. I was driving myself to work now. James was probably still sleeping.<br/>I tossed my empty bowl in the sink and grabbed my purse on the way out to my car. It was oddly unsettling to be the one driving. I didn't have anyone to banter with on the way and the quiet of the car put me on edge. I was relieved when it was parked and I made my way inside.<br/>"What's up with the frown?" Ally asked as soon as she saw me.<br/>"Nothing. I'm just tired," I lied. I couldn't contribute all the chaos to being sleep deprived, especially since last night was the best sleep I'd gotten all summer. Thankfully, Ally seemed to buy my lie.<br/>"Tell me about it. I snuck out last night to go hang out with Jason!" she exclaimed and I raised my eyebrows, excited to have something to think about other than my life.<br/>"The Jason you made out with?" I asked.<br/>"That very one!" she confirmed, squealing.<br/>"I thought you said you were just showing him what he missed out on," I reminded her, shocked that she was in a semi-relationship.<br/>"I thought so, too. Then he was really sweet and he told me he'd had a crush on me since last year!" she gushed.<br/>"Are you sure he didn't just say that to get some more... kisses?" I tested the word, thinking he probably wanted more than that but unable to voice it.<br/>"Prude,"she accused with an eye roll. "No. He's a terrible liar. I tested it out once. See, I wore an outfit that I knew made me look like a cow, and asked him if I looked fat," she proclaimed proudly. "He said no and it was an obvious lie," she concluded with a smile.<br/>"Well, congratulations, then," I replied. "Is this an actual relationship? You know, boyfriend and girlfriend titles?" I clarified.<br/>"I think so," she responded and actually blushed.<br/>"Oh my God, you just blushed!" I pointed out, seeing as how she always teased me for my blushes.<br/>"I did not!" she protested, bringing her hands up to cover her cheeks. I continued teasing her until she grabbed a tray of food and left the kitchen. I finished tying my apron and walked out to greet the patrons.<br/>The tables I waited on were all ordering mundane things like coffee or salad so, by the time break came around, I'd only made fifteen dollars in tips. I plopped into one of the chairs in the break room and put my head down.<br/>"What's wrong?" Someone asked and I was surprised to see Benny sit across from me. Benny was middle aged, with greying hair and a slight beer belly, but he still managed to look very professional considering his business was a diner.<br/>"I think... I think it's guy trouble," I admitted. It was easier to talk to Benny because he didn't know what had been happening the last month.<br/>"Is it that blonde guy? Cody?" he guessed and I half laughed.<br/>"It's Colton and kinda," I answered, hiding my surprise that he remembered who Colton was.<br/>"What about him? He break up with you?" he asked and it was clear he'd had this kinda conversation before. It made sense since he had two twenty something year old daughters.<br/>"No. For him to break up with me, we'd have had to be dating in the first place," I laughed bitterly this time.<br/>"I'm getting a sense that you like him, though. Am I right?" he questioned and I grit my teeth together, though my heart didn't hurt as much as it used to. Maybe it was growing a tolerance. Maybe Jame's whole 'practice-for-when-he-leaves' theory was working?<br/>"Yeah, but that's been going on for awhile," I admitted. "Now I'm friends with his cousin and he's more of the problem," I sighed, finally admitting it out loud.<br/>"What? Do you like him, too?" Benny asked and I thought about it.<br/>"I... I don't think so. But last night... I almost kissed him and now I think I might've ruined our friendship," I gushed, finally understanding what had been bugging me. I was scared that it felt like he was pulling away.<br/>"Why'd you wanna kiss him if you didn't like him?" he questioned, scratching his head like a confused character in a cartoon.<br/>"I think it was just a heat of the moment thing. He's pretty hot and he was being really nice. I can't imagine a girl that wouldn't have at least thought about kissing him at that point," I explained and he pursed his lips.<br/>"How does Corbin feel about you two being friends?" he asked and I frowned but, otherwise, ignored his error.<br/>"I don't know. He's on vacation right now. I think he'd be fine with it, though. He shouldn't have any reason to not want me to be friends with his cousin," I answered. But what about graduation night? He was being pretty possessive. Did he not want me to be around James?<br/>"Seems like you're in a tough situation, kid," Benny noted. "You know what I do when I'm in a tough situation?" he hedged and I shrugged. "I go to work and work as hard as I can until I forget all about it," he finished and I rolled my eyes, taking the cue and standing. "It'll all turn out, kid. Somehow, it'll all turn out," he assured me before ushering me out.<br/>Three hours later I was in my car, driving home and deciding to go to Colton's and try to talk to James, just to see if I was being paranoid. I didn't even go inside to get changed before I was knocking on the Barton's door.<br/>Nancy answered and smiled her housewife smile. "Hi, Vi. What can I do for you?" she asked, not opening the door to let me in. I stood awkwardly while I spoke.<br/>"I was wondering if I could talk to James?" I asked, feeling like a child. She frowned.<br/>"James isn't here, hon. He left, like," she looked down at her watch before looking to me again and continuing, "Four hours ago."<br/>"Wow. Do you know when he's gonna be back?" I asked, hiding my disappointment.<br/>"I'm afraid not. I didn't ask," she shrugged and I almost rolled my eyes. If it were Colton that had left four hours ago without telling her when he'd be back, the police department would already be out searching. Instead, I gave thanks and walked to my house to change.<br/>I paced in leggings and a tank top until my emotions were too bottled up for me to stand. I grabbed my sketchpad and flipped through all the drawings I'd made of Colton, starting a new one.<br/>I could feel myself relaxing as I let my hand flow naturally across the page. Drawing was my form of meditation. I drew the jawline and eyes from pure memory, smiling as his hair was traced and styled. I drew all the way to his waist before I heard noise outside.<br/>I put the pad aside and walked to the window which was, surprisingly, already dark. James was getting out of his Mustang wearing his boots, jeans, and a red t-shirt. He walked straight to the door, eyes never settling on my house, much less where I watched from my window.<br/>It was ridiculous to miss him this much after just one day. I hadn't really noticed how much I'd looked forward to talking to him after work. I glanced at the clock. 8:30. It wasn't crazy late. I'd just go ask him to dinner. After all, he might appreciate a proper meal.<br/>I left my art supplies out and bounded down the stairs confidently, striding to the Barton's door for the second time. This avoidance was all in my head. After all, I couldn't expect him to do nothing all day just because he was waiting for me to get off work.<br/>I knocked and the door opened to reveal James. It was weirdly nice to have him recognize my existence and I stuttered over my words.<br/>"Um, I was wondering if maybe, er, you wanted to come to dinner?" I asked, trying my best to not put on a begging tone. But he was looking at me as if we were no more than acquaintances. It was the same way he looked at me for the first month he'd been here.<br/>"I actually just got in and I grabbed something to eat on the way so..." he trailed off and I nodded, feeling heat flood my cheeks. But I didn't give up.<br/>"Well maybe we could just hang out, you know?" I suggested but the look in his eyes rejected me before he even opened his mouth.<br/>"I was going upstairs to take a shower when you knocked. I'm just really beat from being out all day so I was going to go to bed right after," he replied and I tried my best to hide my feelings. It wasn't in my head. He was blowing me off.<br/>"Alright, um, goodnight then," I mumbled before speed walking down the porch steps and not stopping until I got to my room. I stripped off my comfy clothes and put on my pajamas. I couldn't eat if I'd wanted to, what with my stomach being twisted into knots.<br/>It wasn't until I went to turn my covers down that I noticed my sketchpad. I almost did a double take when I saw it. Had someone taken it and used it? But nobody was home. Had I... had I drawn that?<br/>I stood in shock because, drawn clearly on my sketchpad, was the image of James in just his greasy tank top. I snapped the book shut and threw it into the corner of my room. No. There was no possible way I could've started drawing Colton and ended with a perfect portrayal of James. I cuddled under my covers and tried to not think.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Victoria's Angel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How does James spend his days to avoid seeing Viola?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The front door slamming shut jolted me awake. Nancy must be leaving for work. The thought of work had me out of bed before I knew it. Against my better judgement, I went to the window and peeked through the closed blinds. Viola's blinds were open and I could see her pinning her name tag to her shirt, hair pulled into a ponytail.<br/>I let out a heavy sigh, wanting so much but allowing myself so little. Turning her away last night after she had tried not one, but two times to get me to come over was so much harder than I’d thought it would be. It was even worse seeing the hurt and disappointment she was terrible at hiding.<br/>I closed my eyes and focused on what was supposedly important. Colton. He had asked me to stay away and I had to listen now. Even if I didn't like Colton as a person, he was still family and I had to respect what he wanted. <br/>Right.<br/>It was only a few minutes later that I heard Viola's rust bucket come to life and drive away. I couldn't believe that I actually missed having to drive someone around. I shook off the thought and slipped on jeans and a t-shirt, choosing flip flops since the sun had almost killed my feet yesterday when I’d worn boots.</p><p>I texted Dalton to confirm that we could still meet up today.<br/>        	Hey man. We still on?<br/>It took twenty minutes for the asshole to reply.<br/>        	Yea. Is it ok if Nicky comes<br/>        	I don't care<br/>I responded, pocketing my phone and wallet and heading out the door. I loved the fact that it took two hours to get to Bristol. That way, even if I changed my mind and wanted to come back, it would waste four hours of my day. Still, Viola was the one thing that wanted to contaminate my mind the entire way.<br/>I forced myself to listen to country music because rock and pop both reminded me of her. I focused on memorizing the lyrics to the songs and seeing if I could remember well enough to sing along to the chorus after hearing it just once. The drawback was how all country songs seemed to revolve around love.<br/>I finally pulled into the parking lot of a sports bar Dalton and I had agreed to meet at. When I walked inside I saw him and Nicky sitting at a high-topped table. They leaned away from each other minutely when I arrived and I felt somewhere between a third wheel and a cock-blocker.<br/>"Hey, man. What took you so long?" he asked as I sat across from him.<br/>"I don't know. It's not like it's a two hour drive or anything," I answered sarcastically, uncomfortable with the energy in Nicky's eyes. "What's up, Nick?" I questioned if only to get her to explain why she was looking at me that way.<br/>"I brought you a present!" she squealed and I leaned away. I'd seen this girl one other time.<br/>"Why did you bring me a present?" I replied, looking to Dalton who just shrugged and smiled.<br/>"Because I'm just that nice and you seemed sad the other day," she answered. "And I'm glad I did because you seem even more depressed today," she continued, raising an eyebrow.<br/>"Alright, what did you get me?" I questioned with a sigh. Maybe it would be a fun noose to play with, I thought wryly.<br/>"I got you a girl!" she squealed again and I didn't know how Dalton put up with that noise.<br/>"A girl? You do realize that sounds like you hired a prostitute, right?" I asked sarcastically and she frowned at my lack of excitement.<br/>"Quit being a buzzkill. She just texted me and said she'd be here soon," she beamed, showing me a text between her and some girl named Alexa. I sighed.<br/>"Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but, if I wanted a girl, I would've picked her up myself," I told her, not mentioning that the girl I wanted was the one I couldn't have.<br/>"Not a girl like this one. She was a teen model in Europe," she bragged, like she'd hooked me with that one word. And I couldn't exactly call her wrong. Model was a very intriguing word. Then I got a thought.<br/>My whole Viola problem would be solved if I started liking another girl. Maybe this model named Alexa could get me there. Sure, it wasn't the best coping mechanism, but I’d take whatever worked.<br/>"Here she is!" Nicky squealed again, looking over my shoulder while I gave Dalton a look that said 'how do you deal with her?'. He just shrugged again. I turned to see who Nicky was looking at.<br/>She was probably about 5'10", tan, long blonde hair, and all legs. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that this girl was hot. Maybe she really could get me over my whole Viola fixation.<br/>"Hello," she announced in a British accent, extending her hand out to mine. I stood to shake it, feeling too formal for it to be a date.<br/>"Hi, I'm James," I introduced, gesturing for her to sit next to me.<br/>"I'm Alexa. It's nice to meet you," she smiled as she sat and I noticed Nicky positively beaming at the polite interaction.<br/>"So, how do you guys know each other?" I asked to start the conversation. I saw Alexa signal Nicky to tell it.<br/>"Well," she started, tossing a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder, "Back in high school, my parents liked to try to beat each other in who could spoil me more. One time, my mom took me to a fashion show in Paris. The next day, I went to a cafe and recognized Alexa as one of the models. You all know I'm not real shy, so I went over to compliment her and I guess the rest is history. We've been friends ever since."<br/>"Alexa, when did you move to the US? Your accent is just a little noticeable," I joked but she only smiled politely. Viola would've laughed. Shit, now I was thinking about Viola and comparing the two.<br/>Viola's eyes were more alive. I liked Viola's pale skin better than Alexa's tan. I liked the feel of Viola's small hand in mine better than the long fingers and manicured nails that belonged to Alexa. Viola's features were dainty and delicate while Alexa's had a sharpness to them that could only be found in Europe. And, strangely enough, I liked Viola's slight southern accent better than Alexa's english one.<br/>"I'm sorry, what?" I asked when everyone was looking at me.<br/>"I asked where you were from," Alexa repeated.<br/>"Oh, I'm from Washington," I answered, leaning forward to make it look like I was interested in continuing the conversation.<br/>"Washington D.C.?" Alexa questioned and I shook my head.<br/>"No. Washington the state on the opposite coast. I'm just here for the summer," I added, probably trying to self-sabotage.<br/>"What a coincidence!" Nicky replied, "So is Alexa!"<br/>"Thank you, Nicky," Alexa responded with a light blush. "Yes, I'm only here for the summer before the Victoria's Angels show," she elaborated and I felt my eyebrows raise.<br/>"Wow, Victoria's Secret," I stated. "I'm not well versed in the modeling world but that sounds like a big deal, right?" I asked, unable to think of anything clever knowing this girl was a Victoria's Secret model.<br/>"Yeah, it's a big deal. Victoria's Angels are, like, the biggest breaks for models to become known," Nicky replied again, not letting Alexa answer. I didn't really know how to continue with this line of conversation, due to my lack of knowledge and the thought that my date was a freaking Victoria's Secret model.<br/>"So, what do you do when you aren't working?" I asked. If she was going to get me to forget Viola, she was going to have to be interesting.<br/>"Well, I like to read a lot. Non-fiction mostly. It's really exhilarating to learn about the world," she started, eyes seeming to become more alive now that the topic wasn't her job. "I like classical music - I was raised with it - and, this may sound superficial, but I love shopping," she finished and I plastered a smile. Learning, shopping, and Behtoven versus video games, comic books, and Arctic Monkeys. How on Earth would I decide?<br/>"Dalton? Can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked when the girls started talking more about shopping.<br/>"Sure," he agreed before getting up and following me outside. I leaned against the building and sighed.<br/>"You couldn't have told me you'd planned a surprise date?" I questioned, exasperated. I had just wanted to hang out with a guy today. Him bringing Nicky had already made the day a little worse.<br/>"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise," he tried to joke but I just crossed my arms.<br/>"Fine, it was Nicky's idea. She has a habit of trying to pair everyone off. But c'mon, dude, a model! She couldn't have found a better girl to set you up with," he exclaimed and I could see in his eyes that a small part of him wanted to trade places with me.<br/>"Have you been listening? She has the personality of my grandmother," I disagreed dryly. "Alright, that was an overstatement. But you have to know what I mean," I defended when he frowned.<br/>"You don't have to marry the girl, James. I don't think she's against the idea of a one night stand kinda deal. That's why Nicky pointed out that you were both leaving after summer was over," he replied.<br/>"I get that I might look like the man-whore type, but I'm not," I retorted, getting that kind of offer way too many times. "Besides, the reason I wanted to hang out today was because I wanted to get my mind off of romance," I replied, frustrated with how it was all turning out.<br/>"You're way too uptight for a guy your age, you know that, right?" he muttered. I rolled my eyes at his criticism. I wasn't this uptight a couple weeks ago.<br/>"Can we please just let the girls go off on their own and you and I hang out. I kind of wanted to have someone to talk to," I complained. I had so many thoughts about Viola and I needed to bounce them off someone.<br/>"Fine," he sighed. "I'll go make up some excuse and then we can get out of here," he allowed and I started walking back to my car. He came out a couple minutes after.<br/>"Due to your attitude, I told Nicky you were gay and that's why you weren't interested in a damn Victoria's Secret model. She offers her congratulations on your coming out," he chuckled as he sat down in the passenger seat. I would've been mad if it weren't so funny.<br/>"Thanks, man. I needed that," I laughed before shifting gears and backing out of the parking space.<br/>I wasn't sure how many hours passed of me talking about Viola and him being absolutely no help before I gave up and decided to go home, dropping him off at his house on the way. I turned the station to classical music on the way home. It reminded me only of Alexa and there was no way to know what it was about.<br/>It was 8:30 by the time I pulled into the Barton's driveway and turned the car off. I wasn't sure how many more days I could do this whole driving-around-to-avoid-Viola thing. It was exhausting. I dragged myself upstairs and threw all my stuff on the nightstand. I was reaching for the blinds before I could stop myself. I peeked through.<br/>Viola was in there. She had her back turned to me and that horrible robe on that didn't show an inch of skin. Her wet hair trailed down her back and I couldn't help but smile to see her after a long day of awful. Then she untied the robe and let it completely drop.<br/>Holy shit. Now her wet hair was trailing down her bare back and she wore only lacey green underwear. Holy shit. I managed to rip my gaze away and leave the room. I needed a shower anyways.<br/>I'd never thought of God as sadistic until I met Viola. It seemed like every time I thought I could keep her away He tested me. Last night it was her inviting me over at 9:00 pm. And then He decided to say 'fuck you' by dangling the sight of her practically naked right in front of me.<br/>I stayed the Hell away from my window when I entered my room again, towel wrapped around my waist. Even as I pulled on a pair of boxers I still saw the image of Viola naked. I threw myself into bed and pointedly ignored, with more than a little effort, my reaction to the memory.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Dream Come True</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola confronts James about his behavior.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Oh my God!" I nearly screamed at the unnatural darkness around me.<br/>"Viola, calm down," I heard Ally's voice and was instantly comforted to know I wasn't alone here.<br/>"What is this? Where are we?" I asked timidly.<br/>"That doesn't matter, Vi," Colton's voice said dismissively, but the sound comforted me. I could feel that the darkness' goal was to make me feel lonely. It couldn't do that when they were here.<br/>"How did we get here?" I asked them, walking to try and find them in the darkness.<br/>"V, you brought us here," James answered, and unspoken 'obviously' in his tone.<br/>"JD!" I exclaimed. It'd been so long since I'd heard his voice.<br/>"Hey, Vi? I think I'm gonna get out of here now. It seems like they've got you and this place is creeping me out," Ally called, her presence gone before I could protest.<br/>"What? No!" I yelled. "Colton? JD? Are you still there?" I asked hesitantly.<br/>"We're still here," JD answered and I breathed a sigh of relief.<br/>"Actually, James," Colton started, "She really only needs one of us to stay with her. So I'm gonna head out, too. Later, Vi!" he called before his presence was gone, too.<br/>"Colton! Colton, don't leave!" I shouted, panicked tears running down my face. I almost jumped in surprise when I felt warm hands wiping the tears away. I would've run in the other direction if I hadn't recognized the voice.<br/>"V, it's okay," he murmured soothingly. I hesitantly reached forward to trace his body. I needed to feel that he was physically there with me. My heart had calmed by the time he spoke again. "I have to go now," he admitted, the words barely above a whisper.<br/>"No, no, no!" I cried, clinging to his shoulders to keep him from leaving. If he left I wouldn't be able to fight the dark.<br/>"Sorry," he apologized with a breath before his body disappeared. One second my hands were pressed against strong muscle and the next they were empty.<br/>"Oh, God! No! Please, no!" I screamed as I felt the heavy darkness crushing me.<br/>---------------------<br/>"Oh!" I gasped awake, sitting straight up and sucking in air like I'd been drowning. I realized I was awake just in time for the tears to come. My heart was beating in double time still but I remembered I didn't have time to fall apart. I had to go to work.<br/>Naturally, I looked out my window to check and see if James was visible. Sadly, the blinds were still closed. I hadn't been ready to be rejected last night so I'd forced myself to not go over there when I heard him come in.<br/>I pulled on each article of clothing, trying to get the disturbing dream out of my head. They wouldn't leave like that. At least, I knew Ally wouldn't. I couldn't very well say the same about Colton and James because they had already done so in their respective ways.<br/>I brushed my teeth and fixed my hair into a braid before going downstairs. I had time to eat breakfast but I wasn't sure I could stomach anything. I needed to get that dream out of my head.<br/>The silent drive to work didn't help. The quiet car only went to show how alone I was. However, when I got inside, Ally was on me.<br/>"What's with your face the last couple days?" she asked as soon as the door shut behind me.<br/>"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled, moving to get my apron.<br/>"Yes you do and you'd better tell me. Keeping stuff inside gives you cancer," she stated, hands on her hips. I looked at her and was reminded she was the only part of that dream that I knew wasn't true. I sighed before relenting.<br/>"You know how James was fixing my car?" I started, continuing at her nod, "Well, I sorta hung out with him while he did and we became friends. When my car got fixed, I thought we should celebrate so we went to the lake, cause, remember, he didn't get to go last time. It was a lot of fun but, um," I slowed, hesitant to say what I'd done.<br/>"But what?" she prodded, gently for once.<br/>"I-I almost kissed him when we got back and now he won't hang out with me anymore. He's avoiding me," I told her and I could feel my eyes growing wet. I tilted my head back and blinked rapidly to keep them at bay.<br/>"Oh, my God! You almost kissed James!?" she asked excitedly. "I knew it! I knew the sexy, older guy would get you!" she bragged and I lightly smacked her arm.<br/>"Can't you see I'm upset?" I asked, insulted.<br/>"Have you tried talking to him about it?" she questioned, excitement still in her eyes.<br/>"No," I mumbled, looking away.<br/>"Well, there's your solution. You two will talk and see what's actually going on. Leaving things unresolved gives you cancer," she stated and I rolled my eyes, half-smiling.<br/>"Where do you find all these cancer facts?" I asked dubiously.<br/>"The internet. And you know what they say about the internet..." she trailed off, waiting for me.<br/>"Everything you read on it is true?" I finished sarcastically, earning a beaming grin.<br/>"We should totally be sisters," she lilted, hooking her arm through mine and pulling us both into the diner. Ally always had a way of cheering me up, I thought with a smile.<br/>Six hours and a million questions from Ally later, I pocketed the last of my tips and started the drive home. I had to do this as soon as possible and the thought of him being home when I got back made my heart beat faster. I was almost relieved when his car wasn't in the driveway. I had to practice what I was going to say.<br/>I got to my room and retrieved the sketchpad with his picture in it. It was a stupid idea but I had to practice having this conversation before the real thing. His charcoal eyes looked at me as I started.<br/>"Why have you been avoiding me? And don't say you haven't been, because these last few nights are the only ones you've ever been gone for. Plus, I invited you over even after you came home late and you said no. Is this about what happened in the car on Saturday? I'm sorry if I made things weird between us but I don't think avoiding me is the answer," I ranted at the drawing. Of course I sounded strong when I didn't have to worry about how he would respond.<br/>I fiddled with the wording for a half hour, trying to find the best way to straddle the line between passionate and desperate. I stiffened when I heard an engine outside and peeked out my window. There he was, getting out of Robert. Wow, the sun’s not even down yet, I thought bitterly.<br/>I waited a few minutes after he'd gone inside to throw a rock from my planter at his window. By the fifth rock, he finally opened it. I stared at his irritated face calmly before pointing to the swing set. I saw him sigh in agreement but there was something rebellious in his eyes.<br/>"If you don't come down I won't hesitate to stay up all night throwing rocks at your window," I stated plainly and he smiled ruefully. Apparently I had guessed his plan. He shut the window and I did the same, leaving my room and making my way to the swingset.<br/>I sat down in the same one I had last time, smiling at the broken one that still lay on the ground.<br/>"What're you smiling about? That swing nearly broke my butt," he interrupted my nostalgia and I looked up to see him walking over. I worked hard to keep my excitement in check at the familiar way he spoke to me.<br/>"Since you decided to play the game, I think it's safe to say you broke your own butt," I teased back as he sat down in the swing next to me.<br/>"Nearly broke," he corrected. I laughed lightly and had the burning desire to hug him and make him never leave me again. Then I remembered why we were here.<br/>"We need to talk," I started to the ground, all teasing gone. I heard him sigh next to me. "Why have you been avoiding me?" I asked quietly, getting straight to the point.<br/>"I haven't bee-" he started but I cut him off.<br/>"Don't deny it. You know you have been. I just think I deserve to know why," I snapped, looking up at him. He looked back for a minute but I resolved to not look away until he answered me.<br/>"That night in the car," he started and I pressed my lips together tightly. I knew it. "I was about to kiss you, but I... remembered something," he admitted, sounding uneasy.<br/>"What was it?" I asked.<br/>"If you love someone, you aren't supposed to hurt them," he replied, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. Did he just confess to loving me?<br/>"What does that mean?" I continued, not willing to make crazy assumptions.<br/>"Colton... Colton made me promise not to talk to you," he admitted after a moment. I took a moment to understand it was his cousin he loved before I was shot through with ire.<br/>"He what?" I seethed.<br/>"He was just trying to protect you from me, though I never understood why he thought I'd hurt you," James started defending, but seemed to get angry at Colton by the end.<br/>I stared at him, not saying anything until he met my eyes. My tearful eyes. "Gee, I wonder. It's not like you have or anything," I spoke coolly and evenly, sarcasm lacing every word. His entire face seemed to compress.<br/>"He's my family, Viola," James stated. Explanation. Defense. Excuse.<br/>"You didn't honor his wishes before," I pointed out hotly. He hung his head in shame.<br/>"I know. I'm sure you know he's never been my favorite cousin, so I tried to pretend I didn't care what he wanted. But... Saturday was different. I knew kissing you would be going too far. Complete betrayal. You're his best friend," James admitted defeat, but I was still stuck in anger.<br/>"Really, because best friends don't regulate who their friend spends time with and especially not who they kiss!" I ranted, instantly snapping my mouth shut when I technically admitted that I would've kissed him back. I looked away at the same time he looked at me.<br/>"It's just a rule for guys. You're supposed to stay away from people they're close to," he mumbled. "That's why we can't be friends anymore," he sighed and the tear finally slipped out. I watched as gravity caused it to fall to my knee. There was a long silence before either of us spoke again.<br/>"You know what's funny?" I asked numbly. "This is where we had our first actual conversation, and it's apparently where we're having our last actual conversation," I finished, voicing cracking. I didn't know how long we sat in silence for before I heard him get up.<br/>"Goodbye, V," he spoke softly, and the last thing he did was place a soft kiss on my forehead before he turned and walked away.<br/>I stayed sitting on the swing until after the sun went down. My nightmare had come true. He said goodbye and left me all alone. At some point I heard my mom start yelling for me from inside. I finally lifted my head to see her searching the house. I got up and went inside, soothing her before heading to bed to curl into a ball.<br/>I wasn't quite sure how to go back to how I was before James. I'd been able to open up so much of myself that had been contained for years and I had no idea how to close it back up. He'd opened me up and then just left me without looking back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. A Day Off Work</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton comes home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey!" A deep voice yelled, bursting through the door. I looked from where I was watching Supernatural to the noise and saw a tall, tan, and handsome man.<br/>"Hey, Colton," I called unenthusiastically, not getting up from the couch. Instead, he came to me and dropped down next to me expectantly. It was slightly unsettling to feel no pain at his close proximity. I didn't have the desire to get closer. My heart wasn't trying to jump out of my chest like it used to. Colton just felt like my best friend for the first time in a long time.<br/>"What're you doing? Don't you have to work today?" he asked, seeming slightly deterred from his good mood.<br/>"I just decided to take a day off. It's not exactly a crime. Normal people do it all the time," I retorted, probably overly defensive. He cocked a brow and seemed even more concerned than before.<br/>"Vi, you've never taken a day off in your life. And you definitely wouldn't take a sick day three days before you quit the job," he pointed out knowingly, "What's wrong?"<br/>I looked into his questioning eyes and I wanted to tell him everything. The problem was, I didn't know what was wrong. I knew I was hurt about what James said last night. We'd just become friends and he'd up and decided that he should suddenly do what Colton wanted?<br/>But losing a friend I'd had for two weeks shouldn't have caused me to miss work. I'd gone to work while having a monster hangover, so why wasn't I there? Even when I'd gotten Colton's text, I'd kept working.<br/>"I... don't know. I'm just sad today," I mumbled with a shrug and he seemed to get even more confused along with concerned.<br/>"Why are you sad?" he questioned putting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I decided to tell him the only part of this that I knew to be true.<br/>"James," I breathed and was surprised at the pain the one little word caused to tear through my chest.<br/>"What about him? You barely know him," I knew Colton well enough to sense when he was getting mad. That definitely supported what James had said last night. Colton definitely didn't want us to be friends. Well, he got his wish.<br/>"Yeah, I do," I contradicted him before telling him everything. From my car breaking down to getting drunk -though I left out the why- to going to the lake together. I ended with the conversation of last night where he basically friend-dumped me.<br/>"So is it true?" I half-asked half-accused, "Did you tell him he couldn't be my friend?"<br/>Colton was pissed, that much was obvious to anyone, but I found myself not caring. He could be pissed if he wanted to. I was pissed, too. If it weren't for him, James wouldn't have said what he did and I'd still have a friend that really understood me. Colton averted his gaze and nodded minutely. I shoved his hand off my shoulder roughly.<br/>"How dare you think you have the right to control who I hang out with? I don't need to be protected by you. Hell, the only reason I'm hurt right now is because you told him not to hang out with me! He's a good guy. He was my friend. And a good one at that. Just- How dare you?" I ranted, growing more heated by the second before I couldn't find the energy anymore.<br/>"Wow, I never thought you'd like someone like him," Colton stated unrepentant, and I looked up at him in shock and anger. He should at least look a little guilty, right?<br/>"Someone like him? Is that supposed to be someone not loaded?" I questioned, only slightly caring that I was acting like a bitch. “And I don’t like him like that,” I clarified.<br/>"Bullshit, Vi. You've never been this mad at me before. If I'd tried to get between you and a regular friend you'd known for two weeks, you'd be irritated but not this pissed," he started before going farther, "Hell, if I tried to get between you and Ally you wouldn't be this pissed," he assumed reasonably, and I was stumped.<br/>"And I didn't mean someone not rich. Of course not. I meant a military-type guy," Colton explained, confusing me so much that I was momentarily distracted from the pain and anger.<br/>"What do you mean?" I asked, the question coming out as little more than a whisper.<br/>"Well, I just figured that you wouldn't want to be close with someone in the military... after what happened to your dad," he explained gently, only serving to confuse me further.<br/>"James went to war? When?" I asked, still shocked. I would've thought he'd tell me something like that when we talked about our pasts. Though it would be another reason as to why he was so fit.<br/>"Oh, not yet. He joined the reserves to pay off his student debts," Colton continued, and I went completely still.<br/>James was going to go off to war, just like Dad did. James was going to risk his life, just like Dad did. James could die, just like Dad did. Colton's voice turned to mush in the back of my head. Why was this happening? I finally found someone I actually cared about, and he was going to war.<br/>I came back down to earth when Colton started shaking me. I felt silent tears streaking down my cheeks and I wanted to stop feeling again. I wanted to drink myself out of existence again. But I couldn't. I refused to become that person. To become James' dad.<br/>I still wasn't paying attention to what Colton was saying, only getting the impression that he was mad again. Well I was mad, too. Colton's words were causing me nothing but pain today and I couldn't listen anymore.<br/>"Leave," I commanded quietly. He seemed to be about to say something more before he cut himself off and got up, sparing me one forlorn glance before leaving. I turned my head back to the vampires and demons on the TV and tried to stop feeling.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. The First Knock</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Colton visits James after talking to Viola.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Knock Knock Knock<br/>I muted the TV and sat up slightly in response to someone actually knocking on the door. I wasn't sure if that'd happened before. It seemed that they'd always just let themselves in.<br/>"Uh, come in?" I called, unsure. My voice came out rough and I cleared it. I guess I hadn't spoken in awhile. Colton opened the door with clenched fists, mouth pressed into a tight line as he glared at me.<br/>"What the Hell is wrong with you?" he spit out. Jesus, this guy could never just come over to hang out. He always had to be pissed about something. Not that I was in any mood to hang out anyways.<br/>"I'm really not in the mood for this today, Colton," I sighed, leaning back against the headboard and setting my laptop aside. His expression didn't change.<br/>"I asked you so many times to stay away from Viola. I tried to keep her from you but the second I turn my back you go and do the one thing I asked you not to," Colton seethed, and I shrank back from his judgement. Oh.<br/>"I had to fix her car and we became friends. That's all. Last night I thought about what you said so I decided we shouldn't hang out anymore to avoid hurting her, like you said," I defended. It had been hard to do and I felt like shit but at least I'd ended things before she got too hurt.<br/>"It's too fucking late for that asshole! I just went over to her house to talk to her," he ranted and my eyes widened. Viola never stayed home from work, not even after that damn hangover. "Yeah, she took off work and is currently sitting on her couch watching Supernatural reruns," he continued after seeing my knowing expression.<br/>"That doesn't make any sense. We only hung out for, like, two weeks. She wouldn't be that upset over it, especially since her best friend just got home," I pointed out, trying to avoid showing my bitterness, before continuing, "She's probably upset about something else."<br/>"Did you not hear me when I said I talked to her? She told me herself that she was upset enough to take off work because you said you two couldn't be friends anymore. Then you got me in trouble because you told her it was my fault," he ranted, "And how could you not tell her you were in the reserves to pay for school?" he demanded.<br/>I sat up at the last part, a spark of anger flaring up. "You told her that? Why? You know that's how her dad died. Why would you bring that up?" I flung each question at him harshly. I'd been trying to keep that from her ever since I heard about her dad and it was one of the reasons I broke things off. She didn't need the worry of losing someone else like that.<br/>"How was I supposed to know you didn't tell her? It's kind of an important thing to share with a friend. And don't turn this around on me, you're the reason she stayed home today!" Colton started yelling, and guilt swept through me.<br/>"What should I have done when her car broke down? If I hadn't stepped in she'd be using public transportation," I pointed out lamely.<br/>"Don't try that excuse. You know you could've had that thing fixed in one day. But, instead, you dragged it on until you two had a relationship," he said knowingly. He was right. I could've done it in one day but I'd strung it out as long as I could until it was too late.<br/>"What do you want from me? I don't have an excuse other than selfishness. I tried to do the right thing last night but I was apparently wrong again. So what would you like me to do?" I asked, exasperated.<br/>He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He seemed to have some internal debate going on in his head and I imagined him listening to a little angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. He drew a hand down his face before looking at me again.<br/>"What I want depends on how you feel right now," he began vaguely. What the Hell did that mean?<br/>"What?" I questioned.<br/>"How do you feel right now?" he asked directly, and I thought about it. This question was obviously important to him and I debated on telling him what I thought he wanted to hear or telling him the truth.<br/>"I feel like shit," I sighed, going with the truth.<br/>"Why?" he continued, leaning against the door jam with a speculative look on his face.<br/>"I..." I started before fading off. I really didn't want to talk to him about this. I felt like shit because there was nothing that I wanted more than I wanted to be with her, and I couldn't.<br/>"Just go talk to her. I'm going to have to be fine with it now that she'll be upset without you," he muttered before turning to go, pausing to say, "And I strongly suggest telling her how you feel. It might go over better than you think."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Too Late to Apologize?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James talks to Viola after he gets Colton's approval.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I heard a knock at the door and unthinkingly told whoever it was to come in. I didn't take my eyes off the TV as I heard the door open and shut. I didn't particularly care who it was. Maybe it was a murderer? I wouldn't fight him.<br/>I smelled him before I saw him. He smelled like pine, mint, and man and I steeled myself as I sat up. He seemed to be a different person since I realized I liked him, and my heart started beating harder.<br/>His strong jaw and straight nose seemed even more attractive and I found myself fighting the urge to look at his lips. The lips I'd almost kissed before he pulled away. Back then I thought I'd just been caught up in the fun of the day. Colton had definitely proved I was wrong.<br/>"Hi," I said quietly. I wasn't sure how I felt about him being here.<br/>"Hey. Are you okay?" he asked as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch.<br/>"Give me one good reason I would be okay right now," I responded irritably. All this heartbreak was driving me crazy.<br/>"Colton's back?" he offered weakly and I glared.<br/>"I don't care," I snapped, realizing it was really true. The past few days I'd barely missed Colton. I felt kinda bad until I remembered what he'd done.<br/>"You don't? I thought you'd be thrilled. Or hurting. Or both," he said. I could tell he was trying to decrease the tension but I was in no mood to be happy.<br/>"Well, I'm not. It’s not like that anymore," I responded, averting my gaze so he couldn’t see the reason behind the change.<br/>"When did that happen?" he asked, seeming shocked.<br/>"The last time I thought of him like that was Friday," I mumbled. I didn't want to talk about this. It had a dangerous chance of leading to my feelings coming out.<br/>"So your heart's cleared out?" he questioned, like it was a good thing. I suppose it would've been if he hadn't forced his way in as soon as Colton was gone. Or, more accurately, if he hadn't been the one to force Colton out.<br/>"No," I told him honestly, "But I don't wanna talk about this anymore."<br/>"Okay. Don't talk. I just have something to say," he took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want to be your friend-" he started before I cut him off with a harsh laugh.<br/>"Yeah. You made that pretty clear last night, James," I almost growled.<br/>"I want to be with you. I... like you V," he admitted slowly, watching my reaction.<br/>"I... But... What...? You said we weren't allowed to even be friends," I reminded him, shock making my voice come out dazed.<br/>"Ten minutes ago, Colton told me you stayed home from work because of last night. He was the one that told me I should come over. I'm sorry about last night. I honestly didn't think you would be this upset," he rambled on and on. But all I heard was 'I want to be with you'.<br/>I couldn't think of a time when this had happened to me. I really liked this guy and he... liked me back.<br/>"...I had known then we should've talked more about-" he kept talking but I held my hand up, cutting him off.<br/>"Do you remember when I asked why you weren't asking me out if I was so great?" I inquired, little pieces starting to come together.<br/>"Um, yeah..." he responded, eyebrows furrowing. I scooted slightly closer, leaving only a foot of space between us.<br/>"Was that why you didn't ask me out? Was this whole Colton thing the secret you were talking about?" I questioned, feeling slightly warmer. I thought that had just been an excuse.<br/>"Yeah..." he admitted with a sigh.<br/>"I thought you just made that up," I told him honestly. "I thought you just didn't want to hurt my feelings," I elaborated when his face seemed to scrunch up.<br/>"V, let's look at the facts. You play video games, you read comic books, you want to design video games, you're funny, you're smart, you work. Colton's voice in the back of my head was what kept me from asking you out. Well, that and the fact that I knew you liked him," he said, nose scrunching up again.<br/>"I thought I did," I shook my head. "You were right before. I didn't know why I liked him. I just liked the idea of bits and pieces, I'd created a boyfriend that didn't exist. And now I don't like him like that. He's just my friend," I confided, not missing the way he seemed to brighten.<br/>"So who's filling your heart now?" he asked, staring straight into my eyes. I was almost positive he knew.<br/>"Ally," I let out in a breath, resisting the urge to smile when he turned shocked. The expression only lasted for half a second before he rolled his eyes and smiled.<br/>"Of course. How did I not see that coming?" he played along.<br/>"I don't know. I just couldn't resist the innuendos and curls. Not to mention all the-" I continued before being cut off. The last thing I saw before his lips crashed into mine was a swift but affectionate smile.<br/>I gasped once in surprise before melting into it. I ignored the fact that I had no idea what I was doing, just letting him lead the way. Damn, if I'd known this was what it would be like, I wouldn't have let him pull away the other night.<br/>By the time we parted I was fully pressed against him, somehow having closed the small space that was left. He pulled back to look at me, searching my face the same way I was his. I bit my lip to try and stop the spread of my smile. His eyes followed the motion.<br/>"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention something else that would make anyone want you," he started before leaning down to whisper in my ear. "Everything that is amazing about your personality is all wrapped up in how beautiful you are," he murmured lowly, making me blush as he pulled back. I hid my face in his chest but he tilted my chin back up. "Don't hide. I live to make you blush," he teased, tone back to normal.<br/>"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, covering my cheeks with my hands. He chuckled at my attempts to hide my flush. It didn't seem like he was about to follow my orders so, without thinking, I pressed forward again, surprising him with a kiss this time. I felt his lips pull up into a smile against mine.<br/>I also felt them drop the smile when I trailed my hand over his chest like I had when my hand was greasy. This time I didn't have to pull it away. This time I didn't have to resist the urge to kiss him. I didn't have to resist the urge to trace the lines of his abs.<br/>But apparently I should've because he pulls back, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers. "Alrighty then, that's enough of that," he said abruptly, shifting slightly away from me and clearing his throat.<br/>"What'd I do?" I asked disappointedly.<br/>"Nothing," he dismissed quickly, pulling a blanket over us. "What's this show about?" He asked quickly, obviously trying to distract me. I sighed and went along with this new topic, telling him about the Winchesters. I made the mistake of calling Sam hot and James scowled.<br/>"Quit pouting. You know you're hotter than he is," I commented flippantly, trying to stretch up and kiss him. He leaned away. "What? You're not going to kiss me because I said a fictional character was hot?" I asked incredulously.<br/>"Yep," he said quickly. "Now let's get settled in and watch Netflix," he continued, adjusting our positions so that I leaned against him, facing the TV. "Maybe Sam will get maimed or something," he mumbled, and I lightly smacked his arm, causing him to laugh.<br/>Even with his comment, I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so content with someone. The last time I'd ever been truly happy with someone. Somewhere between the third and fourth episode, my eyes drifted shut.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. First Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola and James go on their first official date.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV James</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I'd texted Viola to come outside at 6:00. I still hadn't told her where we were going when she bounded out the front door wearing leggings and a fitted Avengers t-shirt.<br/>"Hey," I greeted when she joined me in the car.<br/>"Hi. Are you going to tell me where we're going on our first official date?" she asked, putting on her seatbelt as I backed out of the driveway.<br/>"Not yet. But I will tell you it's not the whole dinner and a movie thing," I hinted and watched her purse her lips in thought.<br/>"Are we eating dinner at all?" she questioned dubiously.<br/>"Yep," I confirmed vaguely.<br/>"How far away is it?" she continued.<br/>"This isn't twenty questions," I said wryly before continuing, "But it's about thirty minutes away. I found it when I was, well, trying to stay out all day."<br/>"Why'd you do that? I mean, I know you were trying to avoid me like a jerk, but that seems like a lot of wasted gas money when you could've just hid in your room," she replied.<br/>"I wasn't sure if I'd be able to deny you if you kept coming over," I responded honestly. "I almost gave in that first night when you wanted to hang out," I continued, not looking at her. Talking about it made me remember the Barton's conversation.<br/>My apartment complex had called and they'd found out my place would be done sooner than they thought. The Barton's had told me I should leave as soon as it was ready. Well, ordered was more like it. That meant I'd be leaving two weeks before Viola left for school.<br/>"JD?" she asked and I looked to where she sat, concerned.<br/>"Yeah?" I replied.<br/>"Are you okay?" she pried. I considered telling her, but decided not to spoil the night.<br/>"Yeah, just worried whether or not you'll like it," I lied. She seemed ready to question it but let it go when she heard a song come over the radio. She reached to turn up the volume.<br/>"I have loved this song ever since you sang it," she noted as Absolutely(Story of a Girl) filled the speakers. <br/>"I'm curious, out of all the songs you could've chosen, why'd you choose that one?" I asked over the music.<br/>"It was the first one that popped into my head," she answered with a shrug and I half laughed.<br/>"... cried a river and drowned the whole world," I lightly sang along.<br/>"You're cute when you sing, you know that?" she commented and I rolled my eyes.<br/>"There you go, calling me cute again," I mumbled and she responded with another laugh.<br/>"I'm sorry, you're ruggedly handsome when you sing," she amended sarcastically.<br/>"Much better," I replied, smiling despite her tone. "Can I ask you something?"<br/>"Sure," she responded easily.<br/>"When you were drunk, I pretty much asked why you’d started drinking and you said it was because of Colton, Hannah, and me," I started. "I understood the first two, but what did I do to make you drink?" I asked.<br/>"I don't know. Maybe my drunken state was unlocking my subconscious or something. Maybe you were already getting in my head and confusing me. You asked if my heart was cleared out yesterday and it wasn't. Colton didn't leave by himself, JD. You pushed him out," she explained, frowning. I wasn't really sure how to respond.<br/>"We're here," I announced when I pulled into the parking lot.<br/>"You're taking me to the park?” she asked, looking out at the expanse of grass and dog walkers.<br/>"Nope. We're going off the beaten path," I answered, catching a look of curiosity as I got out and picked up the basket of food and supplies from the trunk.<br/>"Where to?" she questioned, following me as I walked in the opposite direction, towards the trees.<br/>"Just trust me," I said when she seemed hesitant.<br/>"Okay... But I'm not much of a hiker," she commented as we continued into the wilderness. She was right. It only took about five minutes to reach the spot and she had tripped more times than I could count.<br/>"Here," I exclaimed when we finally made it to the smoothe cliff face. It overlooked the rest of the trees and even some of the park, and it had a perfect view of the sunset.<br/>"Oh my God," she marvelled, exploring her way across the rock to take it in. I put the basket down and pulled out the blanket, spreading it over the surface.<br/>"You like it?" I asked and she turned back to me with a brilliant smile.<br/>"It's beautiful. How did you find this place?" she questioned, sitting down with me.<br/>"I was sitting on a park bench and some girl said that people went hiking and that this place was cool," I explained, leaning back on my hands.<br/>"Wow," she sighed, looking out at the view. "What's in the basket?" she inquired and I set it between us for her to see.<br/>"Well, I have one of those anti-bug candles and matches and dinner. I figured mosquitoes would come out when it got dark," I told her, pulling out the candle.<br/>"Very thoughtful. What's for dinner?" she asked eagerly, crossing her legs and facing me.<br/>"I've got macaroni, some crackers, Pepsi, water, potatoes, and green beans. I would've brought protein but I thought it might attract unwanted attention," I joked as she rifled through the contents.<br/>"You mean you don't want bears on our date?" she joked, opening the premade macaroni.<br/>"I try to avoid them if I can," I replied, handing her a fork.<br/>"You really went all out. How is all this still hot?" she questioned, taking a bite before fanning her mouth.<br/>"The basket's lined with some sort of insulation. It’s a heat trapping thing,” I shrugged.<br/>"Heat trapping thing," she repeated. "Is that an engineering word?" she teased.<br/>"What can I say? I've only been there a year," I answered with a grin, opening the mashed potatoes.<br/>"So, why here?" she asked, changing the subject. "Are you going to try and seduce me?" she asked casually, though a blush gave her away.<br/>"Nope. I'm saving that for another day," I imitated her tone, smiling at her tell. “Here is the best vantage point to watch the sun go down," I explained and she looked out over the horizon.<br/>"Wow," she murmured. "How long are we gonna stay? Or is this the spot you plan on killing me?" she asked in mock horror.<br/>"How'd you know?" I replied, feigning shock.<br/>"Lucky guess," she lilted, finally handing me the pasta. I traded her the potatoes and she started eating what was left.<br/>"Hungry?" I hedged and she frowned, looking at the diminished food.<br/>"Huh, I guess I haven't eaten today," she noted absently.<br/>"It's, like, seven, and you haven't eaten?" I asked incredulously but she just shrugged and ate more potatoes. I laughed at her flippant attitude. "Is that why you're so thin? You just forget to eat?" I teased and she gave a small smile around the potatoes.<br/>"Maybe. You know I don't eat breakfast all that often," she replied. I was about to say something else when I noticed the sun. I pointed it out and her gaze locked on the spot where it was just starting to touch the horizon.<br/>"This really is the perfect spot," she commented and I smiled.<br/>"Yeah," I agreed, moving until I was sitting next to her and she leaned against my shoulder.<br/>"It's so pretty," she stated as we watched it lower until it was gone and the stars started lighting up one by one. Last time I hadn't stayed for this part. I cleared the food out from behind us and lit the candle before laying back on the blanket, pulling Viola down next to me.<br/>"Are you actually shy?" I asked suddenly, still unable to picture her the way Colton had described her in the beginning.<br/>"Yeah. I'm comfortable around Ally and Colton now but I wasn't when they were strangers. I could barely say anything," she answered thoughtfully.<br/>"But what about me? You never had a problem talking to me," I pointed out.<br/>"You are one of the strangest things that's ever happened to me," she admitted and I looked over to read her expression. She just continued to stare at the stars.<br/>"Um, thanks?" I replied and she laughed once.<br/>"What I mean is that you're the only person I've felt comfortable talking to since day one. It was pretty unsettling. I guess you're just special," she explained and I took her small hand, holding it in the darkness.<br/>"I know what you mean," I responded, looking up to the stars and wondering how I could feel like I was on cloud nine when I was laying on stone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Bad News</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Turns out no date night is perfect.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a peaceful quiet in the car on the way back from the special place. The night staring at the stars with no obstruction had been one of the most amazing of my life. Of course, 2 am had come around and we’d decided that we should probably go home.<br/>I looked to James as he pulled into the driveway and suddenly realized I’d been wrong. The quiet wasn’t peaceful. He was being quiet because there was something on his mind. Something he rather couldn’t or didn’t want to say.<br/>“What’s wrong?” I questioned, shifting in the passenger seat to face him more fully. He let his head fall back against the headrest, eyes focused on the ceiling before he finally answered, like he was talking to God or something.<br/>“I’m leaving,” he announced, causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion.<br/>“What do you mean, ‘leaving’? Summer’s not over. Where are you going to go?” I asked, noting the way my heart had picked up it’s rhythm.<br/>“My place in LA is ready early. The Barton’s found out and told me I had to leave. Guess they finally got fed up with the noise. They said if I had a place, I needed to go,” he explained, closing his eyes the way he did sometimes when he wanted to hide his anger.<br/>“That’s ridiculous! You’re their nephew! They shouldn’t just kick you out because you have somewhere else unless-” I cut myself off as a new thought occurred, “Do you want to go?”<br/>“Of course not. Not yet, anyway,” he assured, finally looking at me, reaching to take one of my hands in his.<br/>“When are you leaving?” I questioned after a moment of thought. If the Bartons wanted him out, he was out. I’d offer to house him, but Mom would lose her shit if she found out. There was nowhere for him to go, but giving in just felt wrong.<br/>“The day after tomorrow,” he answered and I bit my lip to distract myself from imagining how long it’d be before I saw him again. “Viola?”<br/>“Yeah?” I all but whispered.<br/>“I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come with me?” he offered, shocking me out of my despair. He was asking me to, what, move in with him?<br/>“What are you talking about?” I stuttered.<br/>“Well, the place has two bedrooms and I could use help with the rent. It’s definitely cheaper than campus housing,” he explained with a half-smile.<br/>“Oh my God, you’re serious?” I questioned and he nodded.<br/>“You don’t have to answer now. I know I kind of sprung this on you,” he gave me a small smile while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just let me know, okay?”<br/>“I’ll think about it,” I nodded, still a little blind-sided. We’d only just admitted our feelings. We’d been on one date. How was the prospect of living together already being brought up?<br/>“Thanks,” he grinned before leaning in and capturing my lips in a small kiss. He pulled back and turned the car off before walking around to my side and opening the door, walking me across the lawn to my house.<br/>He said goodbye at the door and turned to leave but I pulled him to a stop, not releasing his hand. He looked back at me, half-amused and half-confused.<br/>I pressed up on my toes and wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, bringing him close to connect our lips again. No matter what happened in that car, if his offer might make things weird between us, I wasn’t about to miss out on one last legitimate goodnight kiss.<br/>When I finally pulled away, he grinned down at me while I mirrored his expression. <br/>“Goodnight, Moretti,” he said with a wink before finally turning and disappearing into the Barton’s house.<br/>I made my way into my house, a stupid smile plastered on my face all the way up the stairs and to my room. I’d planned on taking a shower but it was almost three o’clock in the morning and I just wanted to fall into bed.<br/>I stripped off my fitted v-neck and shorts, kicking my converse in the general direction of my closet. Searching through my pajama drawer, I grabbed the first thing my hand touched, which happened to be a red silk nightgown Ally had gotten me from Victoria’s Secret.<br/>I thought about putting it back and grabbing something else but I was too tired to do any knit-picking, so I pulled the scanty thing out and, after giving it a once-over, pulled it over my head. I turned to head to bed next before a sight out the window caught my attention.<br/>James was in his room, in the process of pulling his shirt off, to reveal the fabulous expanse of his six-pack underneath before ridding himself of his jeans as well. I knew I was being really creepy, but I couldn’t help it. He was so hot walking around the room in just his boxer-briefs, like some sort of Calvin Klein model.<br/>Of course, that would be the moment he decided to look out his window and our eyes locked. Before I could panic at being caught, he smirked, obviously amused that I’d been spying and probably able to see the blush that colored my cheeks.<br/>His expression shifted as quickly as it had arisen, though, when his eyes trailed lower, taking in my thin excuse of a nightgown that stopped right below my ass. Surprisingly, the fact that I was wearing it made me feel better, not worse. I felt like we were on an even playing field, both of us staring at one another in what approximated to lingerie.<br/>After another moment of shared glances, he gave another smile and mouthed the words ‘goodnight’ before drawing his blinds. Once he was out of sight I let out a breath of air I wasn’t aware I’d been holding, feeling my heart beat a mile a minute at what was probably the most risque thing I’d ever done.<br/>I closed my own blinds before falling into bed, thoughts of James swirling around my mind. He made me feel… amazing. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when he left. Then again, if I took him up on his offer, I wouldn’t have to deal with that. I also wouldn’t have to deal with crazy college housing fees.<br/>But could I do that to my mom? She was going to be all alone when I left for school. Could I really leave her early? Thoughts spun around and around before darkness overtook me.</p>
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<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Like There's No Tomorrow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They celebrate Jame's last day by going back to the lake.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I ignored Colton's comments about my swim trunks as I make my way out of the house. Viola, having agreed to let us take my car to the lake when I’d asked her this morning, was perched lightly on the hood of my Mustang in just a sheer green cover up, her bikini showing through. I had to stop for a second to breathe as my thoughts went back to fantasies of fooling around on the car.<br/>I blinked and continued on, clicking the button to unlock the door. Viola jumped off the hood lightly, quickly making her way around to slide into the driver's seat.<br/>"Um, no," I told her, standing next to her where she beamed up at me.<br/>"Why not?" she pretended to pout.<br/>"Because you're a terrible driver," I explained bluntly and she scoffed.<br/>"That is such a guy thing to say. That whole stereotype that women can't drive-" she started but I cut her off.<br/>"V, women can drive. You, however, suck at it," I clarified and she scowled, crossing her arms. I shrugged and picked her up out of the car like I would've if she were sleeping. I sat her on her feet and slid into the drivers side. It took a good five minutes to convince her to get into the passenger's seat after that.<br/>"How long are we gonna stay for this time?" she asked once we hit the road and she realized I wasn't going to react to her silent treatment. I smiled, hearing the excitement in her voice.<br/>"We can't stay forever late. I've got to get up before the sun rises to start driving," I reminded her and she nodded.<br/>"So... midnight!" she offered and I chuckled, staring at the road and seeing the hood of the car in my peripheral vision. There was no visible sign that her ass had been on it, but I knew just the memory would haunt that spot forever.<br/>"What's going on in that head of yours?" she asked suddenly and there was no way I was telling her that yet. <br/>"You," I answered truthfully, though not as innocently as she might've imagined, judging by her sweet smile.<br/>"Are there any specific places you think it'd be fun to kiss?" I continued when she motioned for me to elaborate.<br/>"You mean, like, on you?" she asked warily and her tone made me laugh despite my awkwardness.<br/>"No, V. I meant any particular settings," I clarified and her flush faded.<br/>"Hmm... I don't know. I haven't thought much about it," she answered, a strange lilt in her voice. I decided not to push it. "Are there any specific places you'd want to kiss?" she parrotted and I grinned.<br/>"You mean, like, on you?" I teased and she was red again. Yes, I had a few ideas about places on her I'd like to kiss.<br/>"Shut up," she grumbled. "You know what I meant," she continued, getting straight to the point. I bit down my answer, worrying it was too much. "If you would prefer, I could try to guess where," she offered. I would've said no but I was interested in what she'd say. It was like with the video games, her guesses might give me clues about her places.<br/>"Go ahead," I allowed and she straightened up, a thoughtful look on her face.<br/>"Well, going logically, it would most likely be connected to something you like," she mused and I let my expression give nothing away. "It's probably not something simple such as a bed, though I think that'll be fun," she murmured to herself, putting a finger on my lips to keep me from responding to that. "Alright, you like rock music, your guitar, gaming, and gaming. And me, but I'm hoping that’s a given. Alright, is it backstage at a rock concert?" she guessed.<br/>"Nope," I answered and she frowned.<br/>"Well, I just realized it's one of mine if you're interested," she commented and I laughed at her casual demeanor. "Alright, now it would be hard to involve your guitar in a kissing fantasy, so that's probably not it... I'm sure there's probably some gaming thi- Wait no!" she gasped, looking at me excitedly. "It has something to do with the car, doesn't it?" she guessed. Once again, I didn't give anything away. “That has to be it. Will you tell me if I guess right?" she pleaded hopefully.<br/>"Sure," I allowed and I watched her bite down on her lip in concentration.<br/>"Alright, this is my final guess," she warned before pausing. "Again, even if I don't guess right, I kinda wanna do this one anyway. It’s on the car, right? Like in one of those mechanic scenarios?" she questioned, scrutinizing my expression. "You have to tell me yes or no," she reminded me and I bit the inside of my cheek because of course I wanted to make out with her on the hood of my car.<br/>"Yes," I mumbled quietly, staring at the road.<br/>"Yes! I'm such a good guesser," she grinned cockily and I just laughed. Just as I was wondering whether or not she would technically agree to it, she spoke again. "How far away are we from the lake?" she asked.<br/>"Forty-five minutes," I sighed disappointedly, hearing hers join mine.<br/>"It sucks that it's so far away," she grumbled. "But I just thought of another fun game," she started and I looked at her warily. "You have to guess what my little fantasies are!" she exclaimed and I frowned.<br/>"But you said you didn't have any," I replied.<br/>"That's the point. I didn't have any because I never thought about it before. You guess what a fantasy of mine would be, and I'll say if it's true or not. Like with the backstage thing. I didn't know it was one until I heard it," she explained her weird little game.<br/>"What if none of them are true?" I countered and she pursed her lips.<br/>"Then I guess Ally has been right all along. I am a prude," she stated so plainly that I laughed out loud.<br/>"What if all of them are true?" I asked and her smile turned wicked.<br/>"Then I guess I have something to look forward to," she answered and it took me a moment to respond, clearing my throat.<br/>"Alright then, I'll do it like you did. Start with the stuff you like and branch off. You like comic books, video games, art, and rock music. I don't think you'd have the desire to make out at comic con. However, I don't think you would be against the role playing thing," I hinted and her eyebrows furrowed.<br/>"Role playing?" she questioned thoughtfully, biting her lip against a growing smile.<br/>"I'll take that as a yes," I replied, brushing my thumb across her lip. "Let's see, you were right about not being able to do anything sexy with video games. Art... no. Not unless you want to roll around in some paint," she giggled and I continued, "And we've already established your desire to fool around backstage at a concert," I concluded, unable to think of anything more.<br/>"I like school, too," she murmured, so quietly I wasn't even sure she wanted me to hear it. Did she honestly have a schoolgirl fantasy?<br/>"You are something else," I noted, smiling and shaking my head. She was quiet and I looked to see her staring off into space. "What's wrong?" I asked, breaking her out of whatever trance she'd been in.<br/>"Sorry, nothing," she answered dismissively. "Does the AC work in your car?" she asked suddenly, leaning forward to fiddle with the cool air.<br/>"Yeah? Are you hot or something?" I questioned and she smacked my arm lightly, hearing the double meaning. "I'll take that as a yes."<br/>For the rest of the ride we talked casually about what we would do for the day and Viola practically jumped out of the car when it stopped under the shadow of the trees, revealing another abandoned shore line. I turned the car off and got out, watching with interest as Viola went for the towels.<br/>"Ugh, we talked about this last time. Tanning is no fun, especially not on my last day here," I complained, frowning when she shushed me and brought the towel to lay on the hood. "What are you doing?" I asked, cautiously optimistic. She pursed her lips and looked down at the hood.<br/>"Is this not how it was supposed to happen. I just put the towel down because it might've been a little hot," she started babbling and I smiled before closing the distance and kissing her. She ran her hands up my chest to lock them together at the back of my neck.<br/>My hands settled on her waist and lifted her until she was sitting on the hood, legs cradling my hips like they had the night she'd been drunk.<br/>"I remember this," she broke away suddenly, breathing hard with wide eyes. "I remember sitting on the hood of my car..." she trailed off, eyes narrowing as she tried to remember.<br/>"Yeah, you sat on the hood of your car while I fed you crackers to sober you up," I told her with a laugh.<br/>"And you didn't do anything," she mused with a light smile. "I was sitting on the hood of a car, just like you imagined, and you didn't do anything," she repeated, planting soft kisses along my jaw.<br/>"Of course not. You were too hammered to think straight," I replied and she just shrugged.<br/>"I know. That's what makes it so sweet," she breathed, pulling me forward again to reconnect our lips.<br/>I quickly decided it was a good thing she had on at least one thing between my hands and her swimsuit as she scrambled back farther onto the hood and lightly patted the spot next to her. I didn't waste time before sitting, more than a little surprised when she moved to sit on my lap and pressed her lips to mine.<br/>"Can we just sit here all day and make out?" she asked after I pulled away for breath.<br/>"We could, but that would defeat the purpose of coming to the lake," I reminded her, making sure to think about repulsive things like her old timing belt while she was in my lap.<br/>"Yeah, I guess," she agreed with an overly dramatic sigh. I laughed as she slid off the hood and grabbed the towels to put it away.<br/>"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time later," I hedged with a wink and she blushed, looking away. It was strange how she could be so bold one second and bashful in the next. She pulled off her coverup quickly and I saw she was wearing a different swimsuit.<br/>It was less revealing but was made entirely out of army camouflage. No way was that coincidental. She looked at me warily and I made my way around the car. I rested my hands lightly on her hips and heard her small gasp.<br/>I'd never felt guilty about joining the reserves before I’d met her. I’d never had anyone to care about leaving or someone to care about me leaving. She looked at the ground as I approached her. Neither of us had acknowledged that Colton had told her but the swimsuit seemed like a neon sign that it was a necessary conversation.<br/>"V?" I asked, waiting until she looked up. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was just… after your dad… I didn’t know how.”<br/>"You have to come back. Whenever you get called, you have to come back. Do you understand me?" She demanded, eyes wide and vulnerable.<br/>"I understand," I replied seriously. "But let's just spend the day having fun before I have to leave, okay?" I suggested, trying to sound more cheerful.<br/>"Okay," she agreed, smirking before reaching to grab a bag she'd somehow, snuck into the back seat.<br/>"What are you doing?" I asked as she searched through the bag.<br/>"Well, I tend to burn easily. Last time I put sunscreen on at the house, but I forgot to today, so I'm gonna have to do it now," she explained, finally pulling the tube out of the bag. I gulped and walked away when she started spreading it over her skin. "JD!" she called after a minute.<br/>"Yeah?" I asked, thankful that she seemed to be done.<br/>"I can't get my back," she told me, holding the sunscreen out for me to take. Oh, shit.<br/>"Do you really need it on your back?" I questioned warily and her eyebrows pulled in.<br/>"Um, yeah? It's pretty easy to burn your back," she pointed out, offering the sunscreen more insistently. I took it and she turned her back to me. I automatically thought back to the night I'd seen her naked. I felt like the only difference was that, this time, I was a lot closer.<br/>I shook off the thoughts and focused on the job at hand. Sunscreen. It was just sunscreen. I squeezed a bit on my palm and started rubbing it across her bare back. Fuck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. If Your Friends Jumped Off a Cliff...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Continuing the lake day from a different perspective.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I withheld my squeal when I immediately realized how much of a mistake I'd made to ask him to apply the sunscreen. His hands ran the length of my back all the way to my shoulders and I blessed the fact that he liked to work with his hands, because their roughness against my soft skin was heaven.<br/>It took me a moment to realize that he'd stopped and I turned to him. I felt kind of strange for being so affected when he hadn't even been phased by it. I felt kind of irritated.<br/>"Do you need any?" I asked, taking the bottle back.<br/>"Uh, no. I don't burn," he refused and I tossed it back into the car. That would've been fun to do, I thought with a sigh before taking off in the direction of the shoreline. Even with my head start, he beat me to the water. I huffed in exertion as I waded until I was waist deep next to him.<br/>Without any warning, he bent down and gave me a quick kiss like I'd given him the other day. But I seemed to respond differently to our kisses than he did. He had a moment of shock while I immediately returned the kiss, keeping him close by wrapping my arms around his neck.<br/>I couldn't help it, though. Every touch of his lips was like a drug to me. I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to make it two weeks without being able to kiss him, now that I knew what it was like.<br/>When I finally released him, I saw him just stare at me, eyes wide. I bit my lip until I couldn't take the silence anymore and I splashed water at him to get rid of his shocked expression. It worked. Then he blinked and another infamous splashing war ensued.<br/>I tried to get out of splashing range and swam out until I was treading water. Unfortunately, since he was so much taller, his feet could touch where I swam and he just came to stand in front of me. I would've scowled at his smirk but the treading was starting to exhaust me.<br/>"I'm right here for support if you want to give in," he offered smugly, holding his arms out in offering. I wanted to win. I really did. However, my instinct to keep myself from drowning overpowered my stubbornness and I hugged myself to him, panting.<br/>He started laughing and I couldn't help but join in, the adrenaline of the game making me a little giddy. I looked at him after a minute of silence but he was looking over my head with a strange excitement. I followed his gaze and groaned.<br/>I saw the sight that no teenage boy could ever pass up. It wasn't a car. It wasn't even a pretty girl. No, it was that damn cliff that everyone jumped off of. Well, everyone but me.<br/>"How did I not see that last time?" He asked. "We have to go jump," he insisted, hugging me tighter to him.<br/>"No..." I whined and he looked down at me.<br/>"You don't want to jump off that cliff?" he asked, face scrunching up in confusion. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question.<br/>"Not really," I protested.<br/>"Come on, V. Please. You're not going to make me jump alone, are you?" he accused, trying to make a puppy dog face, but his rugged handsomeness didn't allow for it.<br/>"What's that saying? 'If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?'" I asked dryly.<br/>"Actually, it’s a bridge," he corrected before continuing, "And the cliff isn't even that high."<br/>"Are you kidding? It's, like, 30 feet!" I protested, looking back to the distance between the rock and water.<br/>"No, it’s not. Just do it for me," he pleaded. "It could be a going away present," he suggested and I raised an eyebrow.<br/>"Fine," I relented and he squeezed me tight again, “But I’m only doing this for you.”<br/>"You're the best," he replied before towing us to the shore. Climbing through the trees to get to the cliff wasn't fun, to say the least. We were stepping on twigs and rocks in bare feet. I had the urge to ask for a piggyback, but thought that might be pushing my luck.<br/>"Alright, alright. We're here," I gasped when we approached the clearing. I decided it was best if I didn't look down to see how high up we were.<br/>"You okay?" he asked.<br/>"Does it matter?" I retorted dryly and he rolled his eyes, looking over the edge. "You know, it looks a lot higher than it will feel," he assured me and I tried to take comfort in that because it looked pretty high.<br/>"Do you want me to jump first?" he offered and I nodded. If he went first he could help me in case I broke my neck or something. Or he wouldn't be able to stop me from retreating through the trees if I changed my mind.<br/>He stepped back and ran to the edge before jumping, doing a front flip before I heard a splash. It was a move no guy seemed to be able to resist doing, like just jumping wasn’t satisfying enough. The sight reminded me that, after everything else, he was still a teenage boy. His maturity and our conversations made me forget that sometimes. The reminder was nice. <br/>I hesitantly peeked over the edge to see him.<br/>"Are you okay?" I called down, still unsure.<br/>"I'm fine, V. Just jump," he encouraged from below and I stepped back. I figured the best way would be if I just didn't think about it. If I just jumped and let fate decide the rest. I took a deep breath and jumped, screaming the whole way down.<br/>I hit the water feet first, feeling my bikini top hit my chin. My natural instinct was to start swimming up, but I couldn't very well fix my top where he could see. I stayed under while I tugged it back into position before I started back, gasping for breath when I breached the surface.<br/>"What the Hell? You scared the shit out of me!" James exclaimed, swimming over to me, panic in his eyes.<br/>"What?" I asked.<br/>"You were underwater for, like, a whole minute. I thought you'd passed out or something," he continued worriedly.<br/>"No, I just had a bikini emergency," I explained, causing his eyebrows to furrow. "Let's do it again!" I suggested, loving the thrill of the fall.<br/>"Not so scary, was it?" he asked smugly.<br/>"Apparently it was for you," I countered with a grin and he frowned.<br/>"Just don't stay underwater next time," he ordered and I shook my head.<br/>"I'll stay underwater for as long as necessary to fix my swimsuit," I stated, feeling slightly winded from treading water for so long.<br/>"I don't know why. I would have no problem fixing it for you," he replied suggestively and I ducked under the surface to hide my blush, swimming to the shore. We easily found our way back to the cliff and James decided to do a back-flip off this time.<br/>I, however, continued jumping straight. Or sometimes doing cannonballs. I was positive that, if I tried to flip, I'd end up face first in the rocks. The air swooshed around me, quickly replaced by water. I tried to hold onto my top, but it kept shooting up.<br/>I went to start pulling it back into place when a hand on my arm pulled me up to the surface.<br/>"James!" I complained, pulling the top over my boobs as quickly as possible.<br/>"I told you not to stay under," he replied, unashamed.<br/>"Yeah, I'm sure that's why you did it. You were worried for my safety," I said sarcastically and he just laughed.<br/>"Let's go again," he responded and I followed him back.<br/>We spent an hour on the cliff. When we jumped together I focused solely on keeping my top in place, since he was always determined to lift me as quickly as possible. When I jumped in after him, I made sure to try and aim five feet away so he couldn't get me before I fixed my clothes.<br/>I decided I'd had enough jumping and told James to continue on without me while I went to the car. He just shrugged and took off into the tree path again. I, on the other hand, started rummaging through the cooler to get some food and water. I looked back to see James at the top of the cliff and decided I was alone enough to sing.<br/>"I started with the first thing that came to mind, slightly shocking myself by singing Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. <br/>"Before you met me, I was alright. But things were kinda heavy. You brought me to life. Now, every February, you'll be my valentine. Valentine," I continued singing, looking back every now and then to make sure I was alone. I started really getting into it as I pulled food out of the cooler. <br/>"You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on. I can't sleep. Let's run away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back. My heart stops when you look at me. Just one touch, now baby I believe this is real. So take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back," I sang, starting to dance along. <br/>"Imma get your heart racing in my skin tight jeans be a teenage dream tonight. Let you put your hands on me in my skin tight jeans be a teenage dream tonight," I sang, running my hands along my own waist before spinning around to go into the chorus. <br/>"Ah!" I almost screamed when I saw James leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest and looking smug.<br/>I wanted to run and hide under a rock, but all the rocks were too heavy. I wanted to bury myself underwater, but he was in the way. I wanted to become invisible, but I wasn't part of the Fantastic 4. I was pretty sure my face was hotter than it had ever been before while he just stood there smiling.<br/>"J-When-I-what-um-I just... shit," I finished after trying and failing to form a coherent sentence.<br/>"Katy Perry, huh?" he started, surprising me.<br/>"I, well, um, tend to sing songs that reflect my situation," I mumbled, looking away and turning back to the food, trying to figure out which were ham and which were turkey while simultaneously ignoring the fact that I’d been caught.<br/>I stiffened slightly when his arms snaked around my waist from behind. "Sorry for listening, but you have a great voice," he complimented and I sighed, leaning my head back against his chest in defeat. Were we really going to have to talk about it?<br/>"I thought you were cliff diving," I muttered, both an explanation and an accusation.<br/>"I was curious why you went to the car," he replied and I felt him shrug around me.<br/>"I was getting food," I responded holding up the sandwiches.<br/>"When did you put all this stuff here?" he asked, leaning forward slightly to see over my shoulder.<br/>"When you were getting ready" I answered casually.<br/>"If the car was already unlocked, why were you sitting on the hood back at the house?" he questioned and I blushed again at my failed attempt to look sexy.<br/>"I, um, kinda wanted to show off my new cover-up," I admitted, frowning at the memory. "Not that you noticed," I muttered bitterly. Shit, did I say that out out loud? He spun me around, searching my face. "What?" I asked once his gaze had become uncomfortable.<br/>"I'm trying to figure out if you're serious or not," he replied and I looked away. "V, I noticed," he assured me. I looked at the sandwiches I still held, heart thundering in my chest.<br/>"It's time to eat," I told him and he sighed, letting me go. I grabbed a towel and put it in the front seat to sit on, leaving the door open for the breeze. It wasn't more than a minute later that he followed suit.<br/>"What are you gonna do for the next two weeks?" I asked suddenly. Since I heard he was leaving, I hadn't thought about what he would do to pass the time.<br/>"I don't know. Set up the apartment and hang out with my friends, probably," he replied with a shrug, taking a bite of sandwich.<br/>"What are your friends like?" I continued, realizing I only really knew about our mutual friends. Or should I say friend. He paused thoughtfully.<br/>"I'd say Derek's my best friend," he started, looking out into the distance. "He's a lot like me in some ways, but his thing is motorcycles. He's sarcastic as Hell," he mused, laughing lightly. "He's a senior now, I guess. But, unlike me, he's a player," he finished, looking back at me as though making sure I knew they were polar opposites in that department.<br/>"Who else do you hang out with?" I asked eagerly. He’d never talked about his life away from here and I loved the way he lit up when he described it.<br/>"Kim and Natalie liked to come over a lot, usually with Troy. But Derek and I were roommates so I'm closer to him than any of them," he told me and I nodded politely, trying not to give anything away.<br/>It was just that Kim and Natalie sounded like girl names.<br/>"What kinda places do you guys go to?" I questioned as lightly as I could, causing him to glance at me before answering.<br/>"Typical places, I guess. We hung out at the dorms, went to fast food restaurants, frat parties. Just usual college places," he explained but I was busy imagining what Kim and Natalie looked like. Especially if they were from California. Katy Perry had a song about that, too.<br/>I pretended that my mouth was too full to respond immediately while I tried to form a response that wouldn’t be tainted with my jealousy and insecurity.<br/>"Okay, what's up? Are you still upset about the singing thing?" he asked, finishing his sandwich and grabbing another from the back seat. I shook my head.<br/>"No, but thanks for reminding me about that," I retorted grumpily, slightly distracted.<br/>"Then what is it?" he prodded. I thought about saying 'nothing', but I didn't wanna be that typical girl that always denies something's wrong. Plus, I was a terrible liar. I looked at my sandwich.<br/>"Are Kim and Natalie pretty?" I inquired casually, taking another bite so I couldn't say anything else. I heard him sigh and looked to see him sitting his food on the dashboard. I could tell he already regretted pressing the issue.<br/>"Yeah," he answered with a shrug. I kept telling myself it was good that at least he didn't lie, but a part of me had wanted him to. Ridiculously, I'd wanted him to say that no other girls were pretty except me.<br/>"Fabulous," I muttered sarcastically, taking another bite and fighting the urge to glare at him. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t his fault. Obviously, pretty girls existed and it was possible to acknowledge that they were pretty without feeling anything. Still, I couldn’t control the irritation rolling off me in waves.<br/>"Do you know where I went when I was avoiding you?" he asked suddenly, apparently deciding that the subject was closed, which I was fine with. Talking about him and other girls was only making me more frustrated.<br/>"I'm assuming you went to Bristol," I replied, grabbing a water bottle and unscrewing the lid.<br/>"Yeah. I met up with a guy named Dalton and his girlfriend," he confirmed and I finally met his eyes.<br/>"And?" I hedged, wondering where this was going. Was he about to tell me that the girlfriend was pretty, because that would be unnecessary and, therefore, cruel.<br/>"His girlfriend surprised me by setting me up," he admitted casually. My jaw dropped. Why would he be telling me this?!<br/>"You mean I was walking around miserable and you were on a date?" I questioned angrily.<br/>"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down. I have a point here, okay?" he started, putting his hands up defensively. I worked to reign in my irritation as he continued. "My date was with a Victoria's Secret model," he went on and I snapped, quickly leaving the car behind. "Viola!" he called wearily as I walked away.<br/>The nerve! He went on a date with a Victoria's Secret model?! And he was, what, bragging? I was ready to kill him when he caught up to me and put himself in my path, gripping my arms to hold me there and cutting me off before I could yell.<br/>"I said I have a point!" he continued quickly. "I was on a date with a Victoria's Secret model and I wasn't interested in her at all! All I kept thinking about was you," he explained.<br/>"Why are you telling me this? What's your point?" I questioned. I tried to keep the anger in my tone but his admission softened me.<br/>"My point is, if a Victoria's Secret model wasn't able to pull my attention away from you, there is no way Kim or Natalie could, either," he stated and I realized he’d never been trying to change the subject, he’d just given a long-winded explanation to soothe my jealousy.<br/>I took a moment to calm my breathing while I thought it through. I compared my tiny frame to the Victoria’s Angels I’d seen on TV and tried to imagine someone choosing me over that. The idea was nearly impossible to believe.<br/>"You think I'm better than a Victoria's Secret model?" I asked, biting my lower lip to keep a satisfied smile from spreading.<br/>"Yeah. Especially when you do that," he replied, gesturing to my lip between my teeth. I quickly released it and smiled shyly. He liked me more than a model. And not just any model, a Victoria’s Secret model. I wasn't sure why, but he did.<br/>He leaned down and captured my lips with his own just as I was about to do the same. I was being shot up with that drug again and, again, I wondered how I'd be able to live without being able to kiss him for two weeks.<br/>"I'm not sure," he replied and I realized I'd spoken my thought. I hid my face in his chest. My insides wanted me to trace the shape of his torso again but I ignored them. They were just my stupid hormones.<br/>"Alright, let's forget about leaving and go back to playing. I brought a bunch of stuff again," I told him, walking back to the car and towing him along behind me.<br/>"Do you have a soccer ball in there?" he asked, looking over my shoulder. I pulled the foam soccer ball out and handed it to him. I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought about playing soccer. We'd be running around and there was a chance I could have a wardrobe malfunction.<br/>"What are you doing?" he protested as I slid my cover-up back on.<br/>"I'm not going to risk anything popping out," I answered, putting my hands on my hips.<br/>"Risks are all part of the game!" he replied teasingly and I rolled my eyes.<br/>"Uh-huh," I muttered with a grin. "Let's just play," I said, gesturing to the ball. He frowned playfully once but let it drop to his feet.<br/>After a while of me realizing I had no chance of beating him (he would just lift me off my feet if I stole the ball), we decided to switch it up. We had a competition to see who could juggle the ball longer. I'd played soccer for a couple years, where he had never, so I was actually able to win at something.<br/>"Alright, alright. I give up. I'm not in shape for this," I gasped, starting to head back to the car and noticing he was barely winded. I picked up my phone to check the time and saw it was already 3:30. Time flew so fast when we were together. I looked up at the sun and decided to pull the bottle of sunscreen out again, taking off my cover-up.<br/>I smiled wryly when I noticed James swerve away at the sight of it. I tried to get my back as well as I could this time, unsure if I had enough energy to stop myself from jumping him when he touched me.<br/>"All done?" he asked, coming around the car when I put the bottle away.<br/>"Yep," I confirmed, deciding I needed rest. I went around the front of the car and got on the hood, leaning back against the windshield and closing my eyes. I felt his presence more than I heard him.<br/>"So what do you plan on doing for the next two weeks?" he asked suddenly and I turned my head to look at him.<br/>"I'm not sure. Ally's still working and, apparently, she now has a boyfriend, so she'll be busy. And Colton and Hannah were hanging out non-stop even before they went on vacation. I guess I might just sit around and play games and draw. It might be nice to be able to relax for once," I mused, not having put a lot of thought into it.<br/>"Do you draw a lot?" he questioned and I smiled at my favorite pastime.<br/>"Yeah, especially if I've had a bad day. It's really calming," I answered.<br/>"What do you draw?" he asked and I tried not to stiffen up. My sketchbook was filled with random drawings of Colton more than anything else. Sure, I’d started drawing James recently, but I still wouldn’t want him to see the book.<br/>"Nothing interesting," I lied. "Just still lifes, sometimes I try to draw myself," I shrugged.<br/>"Hmm... You ever draw yourself like one of those french girls?" he asked jokingly but I smiled wickedly before answering.<br/>"Once," I admitted simply, smirking when I felt his eyes snap to me. I loved when I could turn the tables on him like that.<br/>"Just for curiosity's sake, where might that be?" He inquired and I lightly elbowed him.<br/>"After I finished it, I ripped it up and set it on fire," I told him honestly, finally looking up to laugh at his horrified expression.<br/>"Why?" he questioned.<br/>"Because I didn't want there to be a possibility of anyone finding it," I replied, looking pointedly at him.<br/>"Damn shame," he muttered, looking towards the sky. I took a moment to study his profile, to commit it to memory so I could draw it later. We sat in comfortable silence for a while before he spoke again. "Hey, if you're not doing anything here, why don't you just come down early?" he asked.<br/>"I know I've complained about this place," I started with a sigh, "But I'm about to spend months away from everybody, and I want to be around as long as I can. Especially for my mom. She’ll be all alone when I leave."<br/>"I get it. I'm just going to miss you is all," he responded and I murmured my agreement, thinking about how much I'd missed him when he'd been avoiding me. And that’d been before we were actually together. It’d be worse now.<br/>"What's the apartment like?" I questioned.<br/>"Well, it's obviously not huge, but it's pretty nice. It's got a big kitchen. You'll have to share a bathroom with me but the living room has enough room for both my awesome XBox and your crappy PS2," he jabbed and I scowled. "Your bedroom is right across the hall from mine and it's in a good spot, not too far from either of our campuses. If you moved in with me, that is," he finished and I paused.<br/>For some reason, I had assumed when he'd asked me to move in that I would be sharing everything. But he was just asking me to be a roommate. It was a relief but also slightly disappointing. It all made me want to take him up on his offer to leave early. Instead, I turned to face him.<br/>I was pleasantly surprised when he leaned down to kiss me. It was soft, like his words had been, and I moved closer. This was my fantasy for now. In the future, after we'd been closer, I'd probably ask to do more. But now all I wanted was this.</p>
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<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Goodbye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James has to leave.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Very short.<br/>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I still can’t believe you’re leaving so early,” I pouted, standing next to his car as he put the last of his bags into it, all packed and ready to leave me. He moved to stand in front of me, resting his hands on my hips and looking down at me.<br/>“Well, it’s kind of a long drive. I figured it would be best to hit the road as early as possible,” he explained as I wound my arms around his waist.<br/>“If life was fair, you wouldn’t have to hit the road at all. Screw the Bartons,” I muttered pettily and he let out a half laugh before moving to put his arms around me, pulling me closer so I could feel the vibrations in his chest when he spoke.<br/>“I’ve never really known life to be fair. Except, maybe, for a little part of this summer. I mean, my whole life I had a… difficult….father and then I got kicked to my cousins house -who I don’t really like- because I couldn’t go home after school ended. But then I met you. That was the part that mattered. <br/>“It’s like when miners had to dig through all those rocks and dirt just to find that bit of gold that made everything worth it. That’s you,” he pulled back to look at me. “You’re my bit of gold,” he murmured and I was flooded with emotion because that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me, even if that metaphor actually was referring to diamonds. <br/>I looked up at him and was immediately pulled into a kiss that I returned with as much passion as I could at seven o’clock in the morning, his words making my heart feel like it was about twice it’s regular size.<br/>“You know, if you’re trying to get me to tag along, you’re very nearly there,” I joked and he chuckled, pulling back and placing another kiss at my hairline.<br/>“No. You were right. You should be with your mom as long as you can,” he disagreed, using one hand to brush my hair behind my ear, leaving it there to cup my face. “I’m going to miss you, though. A lot,” he promised and I smiled through my sadness.<br/>“I’m going to miss you, too. Who else am I going to beat at video games?” I teased, lightening the mood and causing him to grin.<br/>“Maybe you should take these weeks to practice my kind of video games. See if you can beat me if I’m the one that’s been playing the game for years,” he challenged and I raised an eyebrow.<br/>“I’ll accept that. Just be prepared to admit defeat when I crush you on your-,” I paused to insert an overly dramatic shudder, “X-Box,” I joked, causing him to roll his eyes.<br/>“After all the time I spent trying to beat the games on your Playstation, just getting a chance to use a real gaming console will be a win for me,” he grinned and I scoffed playfully. He grinned before pulling me into a hug once more, this one feeling like goodbye.<br/>I hugged him back as fiercely as I could before he pulled back to give me one last kiss. I sighed when he left to open the drivers side door and looked back to me.<br/>“I’ll see you in two weeks?” he questioned hopefully, not getting in until I nodded. I smiled reassuringly and kept the expression in place until he was driving away.<br/>“Two weeks,” I murmured, trying to convince myself that wasn’t as long as it seemed to be.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Surprise!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola surprises James and Kim surprises Viola.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Yeah, I'm packing my suitcase into the car now so that all I'll have to do is get in the car and go tomorrow," Viola said through the phone.<br/>"That's what I did," I agreed. "Well, for the most part," I added, referring to how I'd woken her up the<br/>day I left with one more bag.<br/>"I'm thinking I'll start driving at 6:00 then quit at midnight. I'll pull into a rest stop or something. Then I'll do the same the next day. I should be there about Wednesday if all goes according to plan," she informed me needlessly. I felt like we'd gone over this a thousand times.<br/>"I still think you should get a hotel," I suggested.<br/>"Did you get a hotel?" she asked and I frowned. I hadn't.<br/>"Yeah, okay. Just be safe," I sighed, nervous about her getting mugged -or worse- by some truckers. <br/>"I will. Can you-" she started but I cut her off when I heard a knock on the door.<br/>"Hey, I'm going to have to call you back. Someone's here," I told her, getting up to head to the door.<br/>"Just remember not to let strange girls in the apartment," she joked and I promised before hanging up. I looked at the clock before heading towards the door. I opened it wearily, already having thought I was done with human contact for the day.<br/>I was more than shocked, though, when the door opened to reveal Viola. Her curls were loose around her face and she was wearing leggings and a blue tank top with a Marvel logo on it.<br/>"Surprise," she announced, biting down on her lip.<br/>"Does this mean I can't let you into the apartment?" I teased after a moment of disbelief. I saw her smile for a second before I was being jumped. I grabbed the backs of her thighs when she wrapped her legs around my waist, threading her hands through my hair and kissing me.<br/>The shock of her attack made me pause only slightly before reacting, absorbing the fact that she was actually here and it wasn't Kim trying to undermine my relationship again. I laughed when Viola's lips left mine to leave kisses all over my face.<br/>"Don't laugh. I missed you," she protested before giving one more quick kiss to my lips.<br/>"I can tell," I teased, kissing her back.<br/>"Did you not miss me?" she asked dubiously. I captured her lips for another searing kiss before pulling back.<br/>"Nope. Not at all," I replied, setting her feet back on the floor.<br/>"So mean," she mumbled.<br/>"What are you doing here?" I asked, ignoring her comment.<br/>"I decided to come over early to surprise you. It was Ally's idea. Are you surprised?" She questioned, practically bouncing with excitement.<br/>"Well, yeah! How could I not be? Thirty seconds ago I thought you were 3,000 miles away and now you’re here," I responded, smiling at her beaming expression.<br/>"I-" she started but a knock on the door stopped her.<br/>"Jesus, it's like Grand Central Station," I commented, giving her an apologetic smile before moving away from her to answer the door.<br/>"James!" Kim called before I could open it and I froze, cringing. After our talk at the lake, I couldn't imagine what Viola would think about Kim stopping by so late. I turned to see her expression.<br/>"Ugh, this chick," Viola groaned, eyes flashing. I was just glad she seemed angry at Kim and not me.<br/>"Okay, okay. Calm down," I urged, holding her back when she started for the door like a bull with a red flag. "Stay," I continued, stopping her and closing the distance to the door. I put on a happy face as the door opened to reveal Kim.<br/>She was dressed pretty much the same as always. Low-cut top. Shorts. Heels. I could just imagine how Viola would react.<br/>"Hi, James," she greeted. "Can I come in?" She continued at my pause.<br/>"Actually, now's not the best-" I started but she interrupted, brushing past me.<br/>"Oh, it's not that late," she replied dismissively, obviously thinking I was only half-heartedly protesting. I groaned internally, hanging my head. Kim really had horrible timing.<br/>"Oh! Who's this?" she asked and I turned to see her looking Viola up and down.<br/>"Kim, this is Viola. My girlfriend," I finished pointedly, trying to ignore the waves of irritation rolling off of Viola.<br/>"Oh," Kim responded, sounding pleased after very obviously giving Viola a once-over and seeming to find her lacking.<br/>"You must be the Kim I’ve heard so much about," Viola spoke up, looking Kim up and down the same way Kim was doing to her.<br/>"The very same," Kim chirped.<br/>"So, what are you doing here?" Viola questioned with a smile, tilting her head in that little way that let me know she was angry. I just hoped it still wasn’t directed at me.<br/>"Nothing much. Just thought I'd stop by and keep James company. He's always fun to hang out with," Kim replied suggestively. The way they were talking made it sound like they were friends but the vibe was like two dogs in a fight, trying to figure out the others' weakness.<br/>"I'm sorry you had to go out of your way, but I think I'll be keeping him company tonight. I just got in so I was-" Viola started dismissing her but Kim interrupted again.<br/>"Wow, you just got in? You must be so tired. I'm sure we'd both totally understand if you wanted to go to sleep and we could-," Kim started 'sincerely'. Viola's eyes flashed and her smile dropped. She cleared her throat before speaking again.<br/>"Actually, Kim, I'm not tired at all. In fact, I think I could stay up all night. So, and I don't mean to be rude, get out," Viola snapped, starting to physically usher Kim out the door. I bit back a smile.<br/>"But I-" Kim protested as she was pushed into the hall.<br/>"Bye, Kim," Viola interrupted, closing the door and turning to me. I tried to look reproachful but she just crossed her arms defiantly. "Hey, I tried to be nice but that last one was too much, her practically saying she was going to hang out with you while I slept in the other room," she defended, walking past me to flop down on the couch.<br/>"So your response is to insinuate we're going to be up all night and push her out?" I replied, laughing as I joined her, pulling her close.<br/>"I'll admit, that might not have been the best first impression, but she was being way too forward," she defended, unrepentant. "Speaking of which, how often does she come over?" Viola asked, looking up at me.<br/>"She's dropped by a few times since I got back," I sighed, waiting for the heat to come down.<br/>"You know, it doesn't even bother me that she likes you. Anyone would. It's her total disrespect for me that pisses me off," she fumed. This wasn't the same conversation from the lake at all. She wasn't angry at me...<br/>"Yeah she's that 'Ms. Steal Your Man' type," I admitted, thinking of Kim's numerous stories about homewrecking.<br/>"Sucks for her, then," Viola responded, moving closer and snuggling up to my side.<br/>"Yeah..." I trailed off warily.<br/>"What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head up to meet my eyes.<br/>"Nothing. I just thought you'd be mad at me like before..." I explained hesitantly, hoping my broaching the topic wouldn't bring down the atmosphere. She sighed.<br/>"I've decided that you're right. I trust you. I’m not going to be upset with you because she decided to drop by at 10 pm by herself wearing that. Now the only thing that gets to me is her brazen disregard for me," she replied, rolling her eyes.<br/>"You're not too shy about showing it, either," I teased, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.<br/>"Okay, with normal situations, I swear I’m shy. When I’m pissed, that changes. You think I’d just let her usher me into the other room while she made a play for you? She’s lucky all I-," she cut herself off with a deep breath before continuing, "I thought it would be best if she left. I kinda wanted to be alone tonight."<br/>"Yeah, what was it you said about not being tired out?" I asked, smiling suggestively as she blushed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The story is going to start spacing out to basically show their lives. It won't be a day-to-day work anymore.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Finals Week</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What's the best way to celebrate finals being over?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I let myself collapse on the couch, finally letting my brain power down after a week of non-stop finals. I’d just completed my last one and it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.<br/>I was half-aware that James was probably around somewhere, seeing as how his backpack was sitting on the recliner, but I just closed my eyes and let sleep take me. I’d talk to him later.<br/>When I opened my eyes again  I could just see the last rays of sunlight filtering through the window and the smell of something amazing wafted throughout the apartment. I pushed myself off the couch and followed the scent to the kitchen, where James sat at one of the stools, scrolling through his phone and waiting for the oven timer to go off.<br/>“Hey,” I greeted and he looked up, taking in my figure in the doorway. I could only imagine how horrid I probably looked with my hair in a sloppy bun, clothes wrinkled, and glasses on. I felt bad that I was a mess but it was the Friday of finals; I’d just stopped caring. He, on the other hand, looked just as perfect as ever with his gorgeous face and hair and body. It wasn’t fair.<br/>Still, when he saw me, he smiled.<br/>“Hey, how’d classes go?” he asked as I moved closer until I leaned against the island counter.<br/>“They went,” I shrugged. “I’m just glad they’re over,” I sighed, revelling in the truth of the statement. <br/>“I felt the same way last week,” he empathized and I grumbled under my breath about how his college break started before mine. He chuckled.<br/>“It’s not fair because look at us,” I gestured between his perfection and my atrociousness. He followed my instruction, taking in my sweatshirt-and-leggings combo, before looking at me quizzically.<br/>“What about us?” he asked, seeming genuinely curious.<br/>“Well, you look completely perfect and I look hideous,” I pointed out and he looked me over again. He shook his head with a sigh, like I was missing something obvious, before rounding the island to trap me between him and the counter.<br/>My breath caught as I was forced to look up to meet his gaze, body flushing at his proximity. I had an overwhelming urge to press myself as close as possible and never part, but I didn’t. I simply met his gaze and waited for him to explain.<br/>“V, if there’s one thing I’ll never think, it’s that you look anything but beautiful,” he murmured, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear while I tried to concentrate on not melting.<br/>I knew he was just saying that because he was my boyfriend. It was simply a fact that I was a mess because of finals. Looking into his eyes, I had a suddenly wicked idea. I knew a way I could prove him wrong. All I’d have to do was kiss him and he’d be forced to admit that my university sweatshirt, leggings, and glasses weren’t a turn on to anybody.<br/>With that thought, I pushed up on my toes and met his surprised lips, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck as he was taken aback. I tried to get as much in as I could before he pushed me away as politely as he could, but I ended up being the surprised one when he suddenly pulled me closer.<br/>My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest at the intensity of the kiss as he lifted me and sat me on the counter, moving to stand in between my legs. I wove my hands through his hair and shivered when I felt his hands slip underneath my sweatshirt to trail across the small of my back.<br/>Around this point would be where we usually stopped, but I had no intention of stopping and he didn’t seem to either. Just as I was about to lift my arms to signal for him to rid me of my top, the loud beeping of the oven timer interrupted.<br/>His hands disappeared, falling on the counter on either side of my thighs, and he dropped his head to rest on my shoulder as we both caught our breaths. After a couple seconds more of the annoying alarm, he turned away and removed whatever he was cooking, setting it on the stove.<br/>I took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself. I hadn’t expected that when I’d first kissed him and now I was all hot and bothered. I pulled the band out of my hair so I could run a hand through my curls, setting my glasses to the side as well as I closed my eyes to concentrate on cooling myself down.<br/>“Dinner can wait,” James spoke suddenly and I opened my eyes to see that he’d turned back to me. I saw a flash of a lustful gaze before he was back on me, hand weaving through my loose curls while the other pressed my close again. He pulled back just enough to ask a silent question. I nodded once.<br/>James wasted no time before lifting me and carrying me to his room, tossing me unceremoniously onto the bed before covering my body with his and starting to kiss a trail from my jaw, across the column of my throat, until he reached the collar of my sweatshirt.<br/>I didn’t wait for him to ask, instead reaching for the zipper and all but ripping the offensive clothing off, leaving me in just a cami. I touched as much of him as I could as he continued his trail to my collarbone and down, down, down...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. The Letter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The inevitable letter finally arrives.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p><p>Viola is a senior.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Honey, I'm home!" I called in a 50's housewife fashion as I walked through the apartment, towing three grocery bags.<br/>I dropped it all off on the kitchen counter before I became suspicious. He always answered me when I came in. I poked my head into the living room and saw him on the leather sofa, shoulders hunched with his back to me.<br/>"Babe?" I asked curiously, walking around the couch to see him. He was staring blankly at a sheet of paper, not looking up as I perched on the coffee table in front of him.<br/>"What's up?" I questioned, placing a hand on his knee to try and get him to at least acknowledge my existence. He finally met my eyes with a look of intense guilt and sorrow. My stomach dropped.<br/>"What did you do?" I asked warily, thoughts of cheating or criminal activity crossing treacherously into my mind. I hoped it was the latter.<br/>"I didn't do anything," he started before shaking his head. "Well, I did, but it's not..." he trailed off then just decided to hand me the paper. I took it hesitantly, my eyes landing immediately on the official print.<br/>I continued reading. And reading. Then I started over to make sure I was really seeing it. Twice. I felt numb by the time I eventually looked back at him.<br/>"You're being deployed?" I asked, feeling like I'd just been punched in the stomach. This had always been more than a possibility but I'd pointedly refused to acknowledge how I would feel when the moment came. I was already imagining myself visiting his grave.<br/>"Yeah. At the end of the week," he stated in a monotone, taking the paper back gently and setting it on the table next to me.<br/>I opened my mouth but truly had no idea what to say. I couldn't be mad at him. He'd signed up to pay for school. It wasn't his fault they were deploying him now. I didn't know what I could be other than completely and totally crushed. Terrified. Sick.<br/>"Come here," he murmured when tears started rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't find the will to move so he put his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. "It's all going to be okay," he assured me, planting a kiss on my hair.<br/>"You'd better not die, James O'Connor," I ordered, snuggling into his chest.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. After School Test</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola gets some big news after James gets deployed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p><p>James has been gone for two weeks.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I wasn't sure how long I stared at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test before I felt the burn of my lungs and realized I'd stopped breathing. Pregnant. I was pregnant. And James wasn't here. James was somewhere where he could die at any second.<br/>I breathed and tried to come to terms with how I felt about this. Was I happy? Angry? Scared? Excited? I couldn't tell which emotion was most prevalent. On the one hand, I was going to have a baby, something I'd wanted since I was just a baby myself.<br/>On the other hand, I was still in school for five more months and the baby's father wasn't going to be home for almost a year. He wouldn't even be able to be there for the birth. A sudden thought had me freezing.<br/>How would James feel about all this? Would he be upset? He'd definitely be shocked, but to what capacity? And what would it do to him if I told him while he was over there? Would he be distracted? Too distracted to notice danger? Should I tell him, if that was the case?<br/>No. That was ridiculous. Of course I had to tell him. It was just a matter of when. I couldn't help but remember all the times my mom had miscarried early in the pregnancy, and I wondered if that was genetic? What if I miscarried after I'd already told James? Then I'd have to tell him I lost the baby. It would kill him.<br/>I thought for a long while about the timing and decided that, if I hadn't lost the baby by the second trimester, I would tell him. All I had to do was wait out two and a half more months of nausea and vomiting in class. Great.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know these chapters are short but, like I said, these are just short snapshots of important moments after Viola and James finally got together.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Call for O'Connor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James receives the news a little late. He's not thrilled.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"O'Connor, there's a call for you," Sargent Cowell barked from the tent flap. I straightened up at the news. A call? I never got calls. I followed him to the decrepit phone anyways.<br/>"This is private O'Connor," I said, using a formal answer with all the officers around.<br/>"Hey, Baby," I heard Viola greet on the other end of the line, and smiled at hearing her voice for the first time in over three months.<br/>"What's wrong?" I questioned. I was thrilled to hear her voice but I also knew she wasn’t calling just to say hi.<br/>"Nothing's wrong," she replied, voice an octave higher than usual. I narrowed my eyes at the lie.<br/>"Viola, what is it?" I asked calmly.<br/>"No, I swear. Nothing's wrong," she reassured quickly, putting a slight emphasis on 'wrong'.<br/>"Vi, I'm glad to hear from you but these men don't like us taking phone calls, so I really should be going. I'll email you tonight, okay? Bye," I told her honestly, looking at the impatient faces around me.<br/>"I'm pregnant," she blurted just as I took the phone away from my ear.  Time stood still as I thought about whether I'd heard that correctly. Pregnant? As in, I was going to be a dad in nine months?<br/>Wait. No. If it was mine, it would’ve been six months, since I'd been away for three already. My grip tightened on the phone and I had to fight to control my voice now. I closed my eyes and took a breath before opening them again.<br/>"Viola, when did you find out?" I asked as evenly as possible. In the silence that followed I could imagine her panicking on the other end. Her eyes were probably wild and I wouldn't be surprised if she was biting her fingernails again.<br/>"One of two things happened here, V. Either you decided not to tell me or it isn't mine. Which one would you have me think?" I asked through clenched teeth, lowering my voice. Either way, what was she possibly thinking?<br/>"I decided not to tell you," she admitted quietly and I closed my eyes at the slight relief and anger that pulsed through me. The silver lining was that she hadn't cheated.<br/>"Why would you do that?" I asked, my voice still cool so I didn't attract any more notice. My tone seemed to make her even more nervous as she started speaking again.<br/>"My... my mom had a lot of miscarriages in her first trimester. I just didn't want to tell you I was pregnant only to lose the baby. I didn't think you needed that on top of everything you're going through already," she explained, voice desperate and shaky. I took a sharp breath as a new anger coursed through me.<br/>"Wait, are you saying you wouldn't have told me if you had… ?" I asked, hoping beyond anything that she would deny it. There were three seconds of silence before she answered.<br/>"Yes," she answered, unashamed. I couldn't take it. How could she justify hiding this from me? I understood that she was worried about miscarriages after her mom had them. I didn't understand, however, how she thought it was okay to not tell me.<br/>I had nothing else to say.<br/>"I’ve got to go. I love you. Bye," I told her, not giving her a chance to reply before I hung the phone back on the stand. Thankfully, nobody asked any questions as I made my way back to the bunker.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Can't Hang Up on a Letter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola writes a letter so James can't argue.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I paced back in forth next to my bed, still unable to let out steam without creating a scene. I was angry at her but surprisingly happy about the news. I was going to be a dad. I was going to have a baby.<br/>
I sat down and tried to picture how it would look when I held it in the hospital for the first time. I was struck by the horrible realization that I most likely wouldn't be there in the hospital, if the birth was happening in six months.<br/>
She was going to be alone. Throughout the pregnancy and throughout the grueling pain of child labor, she would be alone. Her mom might be there but it wouldn't be the same as me being there, holding her hand. And the last thing I'd done was snap at her.<br/>
"O'Connor," Giles said, pulling me out of my thoughts. For the last week all I could think about was how the conversation had ended. "You got mail," he continued, throwing a letter at me before turning away. I picked it up where it fell short on my bed next to me.</p><p>                                                                               JD,<br/>
First of all, I understand why you are angry. It wasn't fair of me to make that choice and I'm sorry. I only did what I thought was best at the time. I also decided this was the best way to talk to you. After all, you can't hang up on a letter. I've thought over other things you should know and that I was going to talk to you about last week but didn't get a chance to.<br/>
I read somewhere that baby's can recognize their mothers' voices once they're born so I've tried to start talking more, whether to other people or the baby itself. It's probably unnecessary since it's going to be hearing me for nine months, but that's just me.<br/>
The reason I'm telling you this is because I've also started watching videos of you. I put headphones in and I put them on my belly so the baby will recognize your voice, too, when you get home. Some of them are videos from your graduation and there are some of you singing as well.<br/>
I also use the headphones to let the baby listen to music. Arctic Monkeys (of course) and some Paramore. Obviously I turn the volume down a bit because of how loud rock music is (no need to deafen the poor child). I know I might be turning into that mom who forces their likes onto their kids but I just really want the baby to know good music.<br/>
The doctor said everything is going fine at my last appointment on Thursday and it's so weird to see my belly starting to get big. I'm only three months along so it's just a tiny bump, but still.<br/>
Thankfully the first trimester is coming to an end because I was getting really tired of having to run out of class to throw up in the bathroom. It's a little disappointing, though, because I'm about to go into the hormones phase and you're supposed to be here to help me out with that (wink wink).<br/>
Anyways, I love you and we all miss you and I'm still sorry for what I did. I hope you'll have forgiven me by the next time we talk.<br/>
With All Our Love,<br/>
Viola and the Baby<br/>
P.S. I've sent a picture of the most recent sonogram, if you're interested.</p><p>I pulled the small picture out of the envelope and marveled at it. Who knew black squiggly lines could mean so much to a person?<br/>
I'd always thought that Viola was the only thing that could keep me going, but now I had something else. I had a tiny baby that was counting on me to be there for him. Or her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Missing In Action</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola gets a visitor that reminds her of another knock on her door, when she was in sixth grade.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>*Ding Dong*<br/>I pushed myself up off the couch with some trouble at the sound of the doorbell, grabbing the remote to pause Good Will Hunting before waddling over to answer the door.<br/>There was a very official-looking military man decked in all his gear standing at attention when I opened it. He was an older man and had a face that I couldn't even picture a smile on. He looked down at me with an unreadable expression.<br/>My stomach dropped. I recognized the look he wore. This was another version of the man that had come to my doorstep all those years ago to give us the news of my fathers death. I couldn't have that happen again. I just couldn't. I was barely able to stop myself from shutting the door in his face, like that would stop whatever he had to say from being true.<br/>"Can I help you?" I asked, unable to control the shakiness of my voice.<br/>"Viola Moretti?" he asked in a deep voice and I just nodded. "I am General Howe. I have come with information about Private O'Connor. May I come in?" He inquired and I just stepped back to let him pass before closing the door.<br/>"What happened? Is he okay?" I questioned nervously, unsure if I wanted the answers. I didn't miss the glance that went down to my stomach before coming back to my wary expression.<br/>"Maybe you should sit down, ma'am," he suggested and I complied, taking my former position on the couch as I stared up at him.<br/>"I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, but Private O'Connor has gone missing in action," he told me gently, finally showing some semblance of emotion with what was probably supposed to be a sympathetic expression. I focused on my breathing. Missing in action. Not dead. It wasn't the worst. But it was still bad. Really bad.<br/>"How?" I snapped. Weren't they supposed to look after each other?<br/>"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you. You were who he said to contact if anything happened to him. Just know that we won't forget about bringing him back. We will do our best but I can make no promises," Howe explained uselessly.<br/>"I'm sorry, General, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," I muttered numbly, just pointing to the door. The process of getting up and showing him out would be too embarrassing. I made my way to bed after pulling on one of James old sweatshirts and curled up, placing a hand on the front of my belly.<br/>James could be dead. But he could also be alive, right? He could be wandering lost or taken hostage. Oh, God. What if he was taken hostage? He could be being tortured right now. Would it be better if he were dead? No, I thought selfishly. I needed him too much to wish for a mercy killing. We both needed him too much. As if to back up my thought, I felt a kick against my hand.<br/>"I know Audrey. Believe me, I know," I soothed, rubbing the kicked spot tenderly and letting the tears leak onto my pillow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. Guess Who's Home?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James isn't the only addition to the household.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I knew the Uber driver I'd taken was probably just trying to get a good rating, but I still appreciated him helping me out of his back seat, my nine month old belly hindering everything I did nowadays.<br/>I took the elevator up and retrieved my keys from my purse, frowning when I went to put them in and found the door was already unlocked. I could've sworn I turned the lock when I left this morning. I turned the knob and the door swung open slowly, revealing General Howe.<br/>"Wha-? How did you get in here?" I questioned, a sense of dread at his proximity overshadowing my irritation at his breaking into my apartment.<br/>"Listen, General, I'm sorry to make you have to wait like this. I just wanted to-," James apologized as he came into view, sentence cutting off at the sight of me.<br/>Oh my God. James. James was alive. James was here. I noticed scratches and bruises here and there but he was alive. The baby went wild at the sound of his voice, kicking and turning.<br/>"James?" I whispered, mostly to myself. And then I was falling, doing my best to grab the door handle on my way down as my knees gave out.<br/>Strong arms were suddenly surrounding me, pulling me back to my feet. The smell that was solely James swam around me and I threw my arms around his waist and hugged him as best I could around the mountain that was my belly, crying into his chest. There was a disconcerting tightening in the pit of my stomach but I ignored it.<br/>General Howe was saying something or another but I didn't give a damn. James was here and safe. I pulled back and looked up to make sure it was true. His familiar eyes stared back down at me in assurance.<br/>"...decided that, with everything he's been through, he's punched his ticket," I heard from behind James.<br/>"What? That means you're home for good?" I asked, cautiously hopeful.<br/>"Yes, ma'am," General Howe confirmed. He sounded like he was smiling at my obvious joy but I wasn't about to look away from Jame's beaming face. That tightening happened again but I ignored it. It was probably just shock.<br/>"General Howe, I think you can leave now," James stated, turning away from me. I frowned in disappointment at his divided attention.<br/>"Did you just dismiss a higher up?" I asked once the door had closed.<br/>"It’s not like I work for him anymore..." he trailed off with a shrug and I rolled my eyes before feeling that tightness again. This one hurt slightly more than the others, but wasn't too bad. Nothing to worry about.<br/>"I'm so happy you're back. I honestly thought I would have to do this alone," I murmured sadly. I'd been really scared he'd never be found. Or he’d be found dead.<br/>He stepped back to look me over fully, smiling at my huge stomach "You're so... big," he noted plainly and I scowled.<br/>"Gee, thanks," I retorted dryly and he laughed.<br/>"What I mean to say is that it looks like the baby's already here," he amended, seeming almost saddened by the fact.<br/>"Well it's actually a week and a half late," I told him factually. Almost on cue, there was another tightening. I took a deep breath. They were probably nothing and I just wanted to take a second to rejoice in the fact that he was here.<br/>"Well you still look beautiful," he complimented and I was grateful for the lie. I knew I was a hot mess with how uncomfortable being overdue was making me. Another clench had me flinching just as he was about to say more.<br/>"Woah, what's wrong?" he asked and I cursed my body.<br/>"It's nothing. I just," I took another deep breath as I contracted again, "I think there's a chance I might be going into labor. But it's fine. What was it you were going to say?"<br/>"Are you serious? If you're going into labor it can definitely wait," he responded, incredulous as he wrapped his arm around my waist for support and started leading me to the door.<br/>By the time we got to the hospital the contractions were really starting to hurt. James was trying to soothe me in the car but I swear he had to be intentionally hitting all the potholes in the pavement.<br/>"Okay, dear," Doctor Morgan crooned as she came back up from between my legs seven hours later, "You're about halfway there."<br/>"Halfway there? Are you kidding me? It's been seven hours of almost non-stop contractions and I'm only halfway there? Isn't there any way to speed up the process?" I was close to yelling and James' attempts to calm me were just annoying.<br/>"I'm afraid not. Your body is just moving at it's own rate. I'll be back to check on you later," she responded before leaving the room. I let my head fall to the pillow as I waited for the next burst of pain.<br/>"V, just breathe, okay? You can do this," James was still talking.<br/>"Oh my God shut up! You don't even know-ahhh!" I was interrupted by another contraction. I could never really tell how long they lasted, but it eventually faded. For now.<br/>"Are you okay?" he asked when my breaths evened out.<br/>"Okay? No James, I'm not okay. I just need a second without your reassurances. Go get me some ice chips or something," I ordered, feeling only slightly guilty for my hostility before noticing his poorly concealed smile at my attitude.<br/>Fourteen hours. It had been fourteen hours since I was halfway there. That meant I'd been in labor for twenty eight hours before the doctor said I was ready to push.<br/>I grabbed Jame's hand and squeezed as hard as I could as I made my first push. There was a petty part of me that wanted me to hurt him just a fraction as much as I was hurting. After all, we'd both played a part in getting to this point, why was I the only one having to do this?<br/>"Viola, you have to push harder," Doctor Morgan ordered and I took a deep breath to prepare. It felt like I'd been pushing hard enough for a blood vessel to pop, and I had to push harder? <br/>"Ahh!" I couldn't help but scream as I pushed even harder, squeezing Jame's hand again. I thought I heard him make a small noise of discomfort as he tried to adjust his grip.<br/>"Okay, okay. Keep that going Viola. It's starting to happen," the doctor announced, but I couldn't. I couldn't keep it up for that long.<br/>"I can't. I can't. It's too much. Can't you do it for me?" I begged James and he laughed once as he shook his head.<br/>"No, babe, I can't. But you can. C'mon, just one more push," he encouraged, looking straight into my eyes. God I'd missed him. Okay. One more.<br/>"Aaahh!" I pushed even harder, feeling something different happening before another noise permeated the room and I wasn't the only one crying anymore.<br/>"Here she is. You did it Viola," Dr. Morgan said, standing up with the most beautiful thing in the world.<br/>"She?" James asked and I remembered he hadn't wanted to know the sex until she was born.<br/>"We have a daughter, Babe," I assured him and he smiled down at me as the nurse took her away to be cleaned off. I collapsed back onto the bed, ready to pass out but unwilling to close my eyes and miss holding my baby.<br/>It was only moments later that she was there, wrapped in a pink blanket. The nurse was smiling as she handed her to me. She fit perfectly in the shape of my arms and I felt more love than I could remember. She was just so beautiful.<br/>"We have a daughter," James marveled, leaning down to my level. I turned my head and kissed him sweetly for the first time before we both looked at her again. Our daughter.<br/>“Seems like she was just waiting for you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0043"><h2>43. Proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everyone comes back from the hospital.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Three days later, Viola and Audrey Blake O'Connor were cleared to leave the hospital. I carried the diaper bag and most of Baby's R Us into the apartment as Viola carried Audrey. I kicked the door closed behind us as we both walked to the nursery.<br/>This was the first time I'd seen it and I smiled at Viola's craftsmanship. She'd painted the walls pink but it was such a light color it didn't come off as Pepto Bismol. The crib was white and matched the dresser and changing table.<br/>There was a comfortable-looking rocking chair that I recognized from Viola's mom's house sitting in the corner with a baby blanket hanging over the back. I set down all our purchases next to the changing table and walked to see Viola laying Audrey gently in her crib.<br/>We stood there in silence for a few minutes, just watching, before we left to go to our room. I took her hand as we walked and she squeezed it lightly.<br/>"How'd you get your old rocking chair all the way up here?" I asked curiously.<br/>"Oh. Colton and Ally came out to help me get most of the nursery together. I wasn't in much of a shape to do anything. My mom said that the rocking chair was the same one she rocked me in and she wanted us to have it," she explained as we both got dressed for bed.<br/>"That was nice of them. Plus, it saves us in the money department," I noted as I pulled the covers back to join her in bed. She immediately moved to cuddle against my chest and I pulled her closer. Just as I was about to drift off, she pulled away.<br/>"Hey, I almost forgot, what was it you were about to say before I went into labor?" she asked out of nowhere. I was surprised she even remembered after the chaos that was the last three days.<br/>I shifted slightly, uncomfortable with talking about it here. I'd planned on taking her out on a romantic date before attempting to ask her again. In bed wasn't where I'd imagined talking about it.<br/>"Come on. What was it?" she urged, unrelenting. I saw the stubborn set of her chin and resigned myself that this was happening now. I pushed her until we were both sitting up, facing each other. She looked at me curiously.<br/>"Viola, when I was MIA, I had a lot of time to think. I thought about how to not get killed and how to get back. But mostly I thought about you. I thought about how lucky I was to be able to be with you. I thought about how much I loved you and how much I already loved Audrey. Stranded in the desert and hiding in enemy camps, I decided I never wanted to be without you or with anyone else. I wanted you forever. So..." I trailed off, turning away to reach into the nightstand, pulling out a small velvet box before sitting up again.<br/>I watched as understanding dawned on her at the meaning of it. She brought both hands to cover her slight gasp. Slowly, I opened it to reveal the pearl and diamond ring. Her big eyes got even bigger.<br/>"Viola Moretti, will you marry me?" I proposed and the biggest smile I'd ever seen her wear lit up her face.<br/>"Yes! Yes yes yes!" she exclaimed before seeming to remember the sleeping baby in the other room and lowered her voice. "Yes," she accepted one more time.<br/>I picked the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0044"><h2>44. Everybody Loves Weddings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viola and James get married and year and a half after the baby is born.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Viola POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Oh my God, Vi! You look amazing!" Allison cried as she burst into the private room of the church, where I was preparing to get ready for almost the best day of my life, falling second only to the birth of my one year old daughter.<br/>I was walking around in my nude sticky bra and nude underwear. The last thing I needed today was for people to see my underwear through the white dress. I looked at it hanging up next to the mirror and could barely wait to put it on. But first-makeup.<br/>Ally sat me down on a vanity stool and started working on my hair while I applied my makeup. I went with all neutral colors today on the eyes. I used different shades of light browns to highlight my eyes but didn't make them look darker than they already were.<br/>For lipstick I went with a light pink. My favorite color was red but that seemed too dark for a wedding, which was going to be light. I made my face blemish free with a light powder and brushed just a hint of blush over my cheekbones. The end result of the entire thing looked like a girl that had completely natural beauty.<br/>When I was done I noticed Ally was finishing up my hair. She had straightened it enough that it was more wavy than curly, making it possible for her to style in in an updo that consisted of intricate braiding but also came across as loose, letting a few tendrils of hair escape to rest in front of my ear. She wove small, light blue wildflowers throughout the entire thing and I felt kind of like a fairy princess.<br/>"Okay. Face and hair done and people are starting to fill the chapel. Time to get you in that dress!" she squealed, in full maid of honor mode. I tore myself away from the vanity to walk in front of the floor length mirror.<br/>I slowly and carefully maneuvered the dress up and over my hips until it was on. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline and was made primarily of lace, which slowly faded into the chiffon skirt that fell naturally from my hips down. Off-the-shoulder lace sleeves ran the entire length of my arms and across my cleavage, leaving my collarbone exposed. I looked fabulous as Allison and I both took girl moments to fawn over my image.<br/>She was already decked out in a knee length blue bridesmaid dress and black heels with her hair pulled to one side where it laid over her shoulder. She looked amazing and I was almost positive she planned on hooking up with Jame's best man tonight.<br/>The door opened a moment later and Colton slipped through, eyes looking me over with appreciation. Six years ago, that might have made me feel something.<br/>"You look amazing. James better know how lucky he is," he complimented and I smiled in return. He did know how lucky he was, just as I knew how lucky I was.<br/>"Where's Hannah?" I asked curiously. They'd been going strong since high school, even moved in together when they graduated. He'd told me he was bringing her as his plus one.<br/>"She went to go ahead and save us seats. The place is filling up fast. I invited her to come but..." he trailed off, hand cupping the back of his neck.<br/>"But she doesn't really like me," I finished knowingly. I knew she was jealous of me being Colton's friend, even though I was obviously in love with someone else. After all, I was literally getting married today. Then again, I hadn't tried too hard to get close to her either.<br/>"Yeah. Sorry about that," he apologized and I just waved it off. It was nothing worth getting upset about on my wedding day. There was a change in the noise outside the doors and Colton took that as his cue to leave. "Sounds like it's starting. Good luck!" he wished before ducking out.<br/>"Okay. Are you ready?" Ally asked, turning me to face her.<br/>"I'm so much more than ready," I replied and she grinned, picking up my veil and pinning it in my hair.<br/>"Okay. You've got something blue in your hair. Your dress is vintage, so that's something old. You've got your garter on, so that's something new. And something sexy, I might add. Now something borrowed," she listed off before turning to dig through her purse. She pulled out a beautiful set of pearl and diamond earrings and held them out to me. "This can be your something borrowed. I've had them for forever and had never had an occasion to wear them. I want you to tonight because a- they're beautiful, b- they're borrowed, and c- they perfectly match that ring," she offered and I smiled gratefully.<br/>"Thank you, Ally. I love you so much," I told her sincerely, putting the earrings in and giving her a hug. They really were perfect.<br/>"I love you too," she said, squeezing me gently before letting me go. Both of our heads turned to the door when we heard the music start for the bridesmaid and groomsman. Ally gave me a wink before rushing to leave, almost hitting Mom as she made her way in.<br/>"You look so beautiful, Honey," she complimented, tears shining in her eyes. "You're dad would have been so proud."<br/>"Thank you," I breathed. "And thank you for walking me, too," I added.<br/>"Of course," she replied before reaching for me and giving me my bouquet when Wagner's March started playing. I took a deep breath before walking out with her, making that last turn before I could see straight to the podium, and who was standing next to it.<br/>James, sporting a black tuxedo with a blue tie that matched the flowers in my hair, stood with his hands clasped in front of him. When his eyes landed on me his entire expression lit up, smile wide and eyes adoring. I was pretty sure my expression mirrored it exactly.<br/>I was barely aware of  our crowd of family and friends that watched me walk until I was standing in front of him, noticing Audrey asleep in her fancy carriage she was rolled down the aisle in. I gave my flowers to Ally as I took the step to put me directly across from him.<br/>"Hi," I mouthed and he grinned.<br/>"I love you," he mouthed back and my cheeks tinged pink.<br/>The entire ceremony felt like it went by so quickly, the minister talking about love and companionship before moving quickly to the vows, which he and I both repeated when we were told to. We'd written our own vows but planned to say those when we were alone.<br/>"You may now kiss the bride," the minister allowed and I tried to drop my smile so I could give a proper kiss.<br/>He leaned down, cupping my cheek in his hand in one of the sweetest kisses we'd ever shared. I was pretty sure he was more aware of our audience than I was because there was a half second after he broke the kiss that I truly wondered why he'd pulled away.<br/>Then he was taking his hand in mine and we were walking back down the aisle together. I walked down the aisle with my husband. My husband! I remembered there being a time when I wasn't sure if I'd see him again and now he was my husband and we'd be together forever.<br/>He opened the door of the limo for me and watched as I carefully stepped in, still fully aware I was wearing a delicate dress. He shut the door behind me before getting in on his side and telling the driver to take us to the reception.<br/>"I love you," I told him. It always felt like it was understood more when we were alone than when we stood in front of a crowd.<br/>"I love you, too," he replied before leaning in to kiss me. I felt the vibration of the moving car, heard the soft music that played, and loved his lips against mine. So calm was the car that I was immediately aware when a loud honking came from somewhere outside.<br/>I turned to my window just in time to see the bright headlights of a semi truck. And then there was nothing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't even know how it got here. I started off just continuing their story and then it just... got away from me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0045"><h2>45. Waking Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James wakes up in the hospital.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>James POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I love you," she told me, and I smiled in response.<br/>
"I love you, too," I reminded her before leaning in for another kiss.<br/>
...<br/>
A car horn that was way too close.<br/>
Glass cutting my skin.<br/>
A body on a stretcher.<br/>
The contrast of red against white.<br/>
Viola.</p><p>My eyes jerked open at that last thought and immediately shrunk away from the bright lights that were definitely not my bedroom and the hard mattress that definitely wasn't mine.<br/>
"Where am I? What happened?" I croaked and wondered how long it had been since I'd spoken. I cleared my throat.<br/>
"You're in the hospital. There was a car accident. But the doctor says you'll be fine," Allison's voice said and I focused my eyes on her before looking around. Sure enough, I was in a hospital bed, tubes hooked to a needle taped to the inside of my elbow.<br/>
Allison sat next to me now, eyes red-rimmed and makeup smeared, still wearing her bridesmaid dress.<br/>
"Where's V?" I groaned, working up the energy to start thinking coherently. I remembered a loud noise and then so much pain.<br/>
I watched as Allison looked behind her at my question. I followed her gaze and saw Derek and Colton, along with a sleeping Audrey. At Allison's look, they all clear out. Their somber expressions filled me with dread.<br/>
"Allison. Where's Viola?" I questioned again, voice becoming stronger as the heart monitor started beeping faster. She looked back at me with fresh tears.<br/>
"James... she wasn't wearing her seatbelt when the truck hit her side of the car. She... she died on sight. There was nothing anyone could do," she explained, voice breaking at the end.<br/>
"What?" I gasped breathlessly, every atom in my body begging her to say she was lying. That Viola was in the other room. Or, better yet, the waiting room.<br/>
A body flying towards me.<br/>
Red against white.<br/>
Viola.<br/>
"No," I shook my head, ignoring the pain that came with it. In fact, I welcomed it. Anything to distract me from the truth, “No, no, no, no. Ally, please, no.”<br/>
"I'm so sorry, James," she consoled, reaching to take my hand. I pulled it away.<br/>
"Can you leave? I just- I need to be alone. Please," I begged brokenly. The reality was starting to settle in and I could feel the tears welling up. She reluctantly nodded and left to allow me to go to pieces, wondering how I could gain so much and lose it in the same day?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Why am I doing this? Seriously, somebody stop me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. Audrey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James in the hospital a little later.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shortest chapter but bear with me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>An hour later I tried to pull myself together. I had a daughter that would be aware if I was upset. She wasn't going to understand what happened, but she was old enough to be upset if I was. This happened just in time for Allison to walk back in, Audrey now awake.<br/>"She was asking for you," Allison explained and Audrey started reaching for me from the prison of Allison's arms.<br/>"Dada," Audrey spoke as if to prove Allison's story.<br/>"Bring her here," I said quietly, trying not to sound too broken as I took the squirming child from her arms and sat her in my lap. I heard Allison go but didn't look up to see it.<br/>"Hi, Baby Girl," I cooed and she laughed as I took her little hands in mine.<br/>I couldn't help but notice all of the features Audrey got from Viola, the most obvious being the curly black hair, though Audrey's was only about three inches long. She had my eyes and skin tone but had the same round lips Viola had. And the huge eyes. Even though they were brown, her eyes were decidedly Viola's.<br/>Audrey sat contedly in my lap, busying herself with playing with my hands as I thought. This little person was what I loved most in the world. Viola was a part of her and she was a part of Viola. Audrey was the best thing V and I ever did together. From now on, Audrey was everything.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0047"><h2>47. Coming Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There are two ways to deal with losing a loved one: avoidance or remembrance. Which will James choose?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I tried to get through my nine to five work days on autopilot, saving my energy for home. As soon as I got off work, I picked Audrey up from daycare and spent the rest of the day with her. It didn't matter what we did, I just wanted to make every moment count. I always tried my best to be cheerful around her.<br/>We were playing on the floor the week after I got out of the hospital when she suddenly looked up at me curiously.<br/>"Mama?" she asked with a frown. I froze to keep myself together. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked but every time still twisted my heart painfully. I had to concentrate on not thinking in order to answer.<br/>The only time I allowed myself to think about Viola was after I put Audrey to bed for the night. I would just go to bed and wallow in the unbearable agony, clinging to whatever still smelled like her. The pillow, the clothes, anything.<br/>I lived that way for three months, only realizing I couldn't continue when Derek pointed out that I was dropping the ball of fatherhood and slowly slipping into a depression. I took a moment to think about my priorities.<br/>I had to start talking about Viola with Audrey. I was just realizing that my aversion to thinking about it would cause her to forget her mother. Already she was asking less and less and crying out for only me. That night, I gathered up every picture of Viola I could find, ignoring the heartache, and put them all in Audrey's room.<br/>I sat down in the comfortable rocking chair with Audrey on my lap and took out a picture. This one was one of Viola and Audrey together at the playground. Viola was pushing Audrey gently on the swings, both of them laughing. I remembered I had been laughing that day, too. Audrey's laughter had been infectious.<br/>"Aud, who's that?" I asked, pointing to the beautiful black haired woman.<br/>"Mama," she said, pointing along with me. I let out a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't forgotten.<br/>"Yes. That is Mama. You were having so much fun that day. And look how much fun Mama was having fun, too," I spoke gently. I would do this every night. I'd take a different picture and remind her of who she was. I knew she'd never be able to truly remember the times they shared, but doing this was a way to keep Viola present in some way. Every day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0048"><h2>48. A New Old Idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James remembers a way to pay true honor to Viola's memory.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Stay with me through these snapshots, guys. I promise it's coming.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I'd gone through every picture of V I owned. She was always smiling. I found that it was something that I took for granted because I didn't realize the rarity of it. She wasn't only smiling in the staged photos. Every candid had a smile, too. She found happiness in everything.<br/>Why hadn't I thanked her for that? Why hadn't I told her every day how beautiful her smile was? I hoped she knew. I hoped she knew every single thing I loved about her. She was so strong for someone so small. I knew that, if I hadn't come home, she'd still have been strong enough to take care of Audrey on her own. Stronger than I was.<br/>I smiled when I came across a picture of her old bug. It had driven it's last drive just a few months before she died. I laughed to myself, remembering the funeral she'd forced us to have before sent it to the scrap yard.<br/>I looked up to the timing belt we’d removed and displayed on the wall. It was always a sweet reminder of those first few days. That old car had been what brought us together in the beginning. I couldn't imagine how my life would've turned out if I'd spent that entire summer not talking to her. I didn't even want to think about it.<br/>I went over those days in my head. All the things we talked about. All the things she said, and I remembered. All her life she'd wanted to be the object of a song someone wrote. I sat up in my chair at the thought.<br/>Why had I never written her a song? She'd only mentioned it that one time but she'd said it with such longing. I always thought my biggest regret would be getting in that car that day, but that wasn't something I could have foreseen or controlled. It had taken me a while to come to accept that.<br/>No, I know knew my biggest regret was never writing that fucking song for her. I don't think any word or any vow would speak with more volume than if I put real work into writing a song made for her.<br/>I didn't waste any time before heading to my office and pulling out a blank piece of paper. I went over the qualities of a good song in my mind. Verse; Chorus; Verse; Chorus; Bridge; Chorus. What would the song be about?<br/>It made me ache to realize I couldn't write a song for her life. For now. Not when, in the present, she was gone. But the song would still be to her. The only song I ever wrote would be meant for her. I stopped.<br/>Meant for You. That was the title. Everything was meant for her. No other title would stick in my head better than that. I immediately wrote it down and started on the chorus. Once I had it down, I moved to the verses. There was so much that I wanted to say on the bridge that it took me longer than any other part to write out perfectly.<br/>I took the baby monitor outside with me so I could discover the melody and instrumental on my guitar. It wasn't until the sun came up that I had it figured out. Almost exactly on cue, Audrey woke up. I smiled sadly at what the song had become before going inside to take care of our child.<br/>"Hey, baby," I cooed as I picked her up out of the crib. She giggled when I played airplane and I smiled at her joy, taking her to the kitchen to sit in the high chair.<br/>"Dada, I want ‘Loops," she requested and I moved to the cabinet to get the box of fruit loops, spreading a handful onto her tray.<br/>"Hey, do you want to see uncle Derek and aunt Amy today?" I asked as she stuffed the cereal in her mouth. She nodded while chewing and I grinned. I was tired as fuck but I had to play this song as soon as possible. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and punched in the number.<br/>"This is Hale," he answered, having seen way too many cop shows.<br/>"Hey, man. Can I ask you for a favor?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0049"><h2>49. The Best Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James visits Viola with a long overdue surprise.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We finally find out how I came up with the name of the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I sat on the grass in front of her headstone and sat in silence, staring at the elegant script that was a stark reminder of just how little time she'd had.<br/>
"Hey V," I started. "I know it's been too long, and you're probably wondering why it's just me, no Audrey, but I wanted it to just be us today.<br/>
"You see, I've been working on something. I know that, if you were here, you'd laugh and tell me my timing always sucked, that I was a little late, but I want you to hear anyway. I just thought a song for you was never too late and you deserve one.<br/>
"If it sucks, I'm sorry. As you know, it's my first time writing one and you're the one person I'd do it for. I should've done it a long time ago but here it is:<br/>
"You always refused<br/>
To let the outside win<br/>
They tried to cage you<br/>
But you broke the bars like tin<br/>
No one could ever trap you<br/>
'Cause you always held the key<br/>
I will always love you<br/>
'Cause you made me feel free<br/>
"You deserve much more<br/>
Than how it all turned out	                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
You walked through all your doors                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Without a shadow of a doubt<br/>
You fought for what you longed for<br/>
Didn't care about the route<br/>
After all that you'd been through<br/>
The best life was meant for you<br/>
"You always wanted<br/>
What nobody else could reach<br/>
You charted stars that<br/>
Only you could see<br/>
You once told me that<br/>
It made you feel alone<br/>
But I could make you feel<br/>
Like you always had a home<br/>
"You deserve much more<br/>
Than how it all turned out<br/>
You walked through all your doors                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Without a shadow of a doubt<br/>
You fought for what you longed for<br/>
Didn't care about the route<br/>
After all that you'd been through<br/>
The best life was meant for you<br/>
"Just one more hug<br/>
Just one more touch<br/>
Just one more chance to talk about love<br/>
This one last call<br/>
This one last fall<br/>
This one last song to give you my all<br/>
"You deserved much more<br/>
Than how it all turned out<br/>
You walked through all your doors                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Without a shadow of a doubt              	                                                                                                                                                                                                  You fought for what you longed for<br/>
Didn't care about the route<br/>
After all that you'd been through                                                                                                                                                                                                            The best life was meant for you<br/>
"The best love was meant for you<br/>
"I thought that I was meant for you."<br/>
I let my head fall with the last strum of my guitar. I put it to the side and took a breath. I tried to imagine her reaction and smiled. She would've fought back tears and hugged me and I would've hugged back as fiercely as I was able because I couldn't let her go again.<br/>
"Sorry that it couldn't be happier but that's really all I can think about what happened. You were just so strong. So good. So brave. I don't know why something like this would happen to you. I don't know why you didn't get more time, why we didn't get more time.<br/>
"Maybe, in the future, I'll be able to write to you more. I'll be able to look past the horrible and write a song that wouldn't make you cry. Maybe I'll write a song and bring Audrey along. I just love you so much. Always.<br/>
"I know you'd want me to move on. Not too soon, of course," I half laughed. "But I can't, V. I can't even imagine loving anyone that wasn't you. I've told you before and I'll tell you now that I loved you from day 1. The percentage of people who feel that are negligible so the likelihood of that happening to me twice is practically none.<br/>
"So, whenever it is that I die, I'll be able to meet you wherever you are without anyone else. I do hope, though, that I get to choose which age I'll be with you. I know it's not really important but I'd rather embrace you again when I'm twenty four rather than when I'm eighty," I chuckled and imagined her laughing along.<br/>
"There's not too much left to say today except I love you. But I'm still going to stay for awhile if that's okay with you," I finished and picked up the guitar. Before I knew it, I was strumming the instrumental to "Absolutely(Story of a Girl)".</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yeah, I've never actually written a song before so I'm sorry if it sucks but it's the thought that counts.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0050"><h2>50. Hop, Skip, and a Jump</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I jumped forward ten years into the future.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Audrey! I thought I asked you to clean this desk up last week," I called from the office, where she liked to draw and do her projects.<br/>"What'd you say, Dad?" she asked, appearing in the doorway. She was a spitting image of her mother at eleven years old. Curly black hair. Big eyes.<br/>"I told you to clean up this mess last week after you did your project. Believe it or not, this is actually my desk, too," I told her and she was immediately defensive.<br/>"But Julia really wanted to hang out last week. Her boyfriend broke up with her so we had a sleepover," she explained, and I rolled my eyes.<br/>"You two are too young to have boyfriends," I started, "And you know that you can't go play until you clean up your messes. I've been telling you that since you were five."<br/>"You're so dramatic, Dad. Why do you even need the desk to be cleaned? You're an engineer," she pointed out.<br/>"Yes, and I need to find a disc to burn a video on for work," I explained, trying to sort through the piles of paper.<br/>"A disc? Really? Why don't you just put it on a USB drive?" she asked dubiously, hand on her hip.<br/>"Because I know how to work a disc," I answered easily and she sighed before walking away.<br/>"You don't get to go play until this desk is cleaned," I called after her.<br/>"Dad, I'm not three. I don't go play. I hang out," she answered from her room before a door shut. Nope. She wasn't three anymore. When she was three she didn't have this attitude.<br/>"Aha!" I exclaimed as I finally found a drawer full of blank CDs. They were all in individual paper holders. As I dug them out, I saw writing on the paper. Okay so maybe they weren't empty. Each one had a different label.<br/>To James on our ten year anniversary<br/>To Audrey on her graduation day<br/>To Audrey on her Sweet 16<br/>To Audrey on her 18th birthday<br/>To Audrey on her wedding day<br/>To James on a bad day<br/>My concert<br/>To James on any occasion<br/>"What the..."  I muttered to myself. I'd never seen these before. I pulled out my laptop and turned on the last one.<br/>The screen brought up a video of… Viola. She had on her old Hulk shirt and was obviously pregnant. My throat closed up when she started speaking.<br/>"Hi James. It's me, V. I don't know where you are right now. Somewhere in the middle east, I assume. And I'm sitting here, missing you and getting bigger every day. I'm not even sure why I'm making this video, really. I just have to tell somebody, anybody, how much I miss you. How much I love you. So I decided to tell this camera. There's a part of me that hopes you'll never actually see this because I might be embarrassed. If you're watching this, please don't tease me. I'm really bored and need to talk. <br/>"The baby kicked for the first time today and I was so excited to tell you that for a minute I forgot you were halfway across the world. It really sucks going through this without you. I also want to use this video to tell you what I'm going to name the baby. I figure that, if you ever see this, it will be after she is born so you can't do anything to change it. So, with that being said, her name will be Audrey. I don't care what I have to do. I might even manipulate you to get it to happen. But if you don't like it I know that you will. Eventually.<br/>"I wish I could talk to you every day like this but those stupid army guys only let me talk to you that one time because I had to tell you I was pregnant. I didn't tell you on the phone but I'm actually really happy about this. It's one of those unexpected surprises of life that just make everything better. She is going to make everything better. Anyways, I am sitting here hoping beyond all hope that you will come back to me because I have no idea what I would do if you died on me. Not just with the baby either. Even if she didn't exist I wouldn't know what to do. I love you so damn much so you'd better come home. Crap, I swear I didn't mean to cry on this tape. I love you, JD. Bye."<br/>I could only stare at the screen. I’d seen every picture, watched every video of Viola that existed just to hear her voice, a hundred times. I’d thought that was all I got. But my wife had just said something new for the first time in ten years. Hearing her voice was like music. It literally felt like finding buried treasure. My wedding band seemed to heat up a little, as if it knew she'd come back in some way.<br/>"Oh my God! Dad, What's wrong?" Audrey asked and I looked up to see her horror struck expression in the doorway. I could only imagine the expression on my face, through the tears I could feel.<br/>"Nothing. Nothing is wrong," I choked as she hurried to my side. I heard her gasp as she saw the screen. It was a freeze frame of when Viola had reached forward to turn off the camera. I knew Audrey recognized her mother.<br/>It had been years since I'd sat down with her and showed her pictures of her mom. After she turned seven she didn't need me to tuck her in anymore and she'd memorized everything I'd told her. All the pictures were framed throughout the house, now. She still saw her mom's image every day.<br/>"Is that... Mom?" she asked, sounding vulnerable. I nodded and took her hand for support.<br/>"Yeah. I just found them all in this drawer. I didn't even know they were there. She never told me," I explained further.<br/>"Can I...can I watch it?" she asked hesitantly.<br/>"Yeah, of course. She actually talks about you," I told her, getting up and letting her take my place in the desk chair. She scooted closer and pressed play, restarting the video.<br/>"Hi, James. It's me, V. I don't know..." Viola said on the screen and I watched Audrey's face as she listened to her mother speak. When it was over, she looked at me.<br/>"She's different than I thought," she noted.<br/>"What do you mean? I told you all about her," I defended. I thought I'd been thorough.<br/>"I don’t know. How she talks. The way she flipped her hair and laughed. All this time I thought she was a grown up adult, but she was cool, wasn't she? She made random videos just because. She was twenty something and pregnant and still wore comic book t-shirts. I wish I could've known her," she said somberly, looking longingly at the screen.<br/>"Me too, kiddo," I agreed, "But it looks like she made more. Some of them are specifically for you, too. She's going to talk to you like she was to me."<br/>"Can I see them?" Audrey asked eagerly, and I hesitated.<br/>"They all have specific dates on when you're allowed to open them. Your 16th and 18th birthdays, graduation day, and wedding day. And I think it would be best if we honored the dates," I told her.<br/>"So I have to wait another five years to hear her voice again?" she whined and I felt bad for her. Viola hadn't made any 'for any occassion' videos for her. I picked up the concert.<br/>"This one isn't addressed to anyone so I suppose we could watch it now," I suggested, trading it out for the former CD. I made sure to put the first one back in it's case. The next thing I was doing would be to put these in the safe after we were done watching. I didn’t know what I’d do if I lost any.<br/>"Yay!" she exclaimed, pressing play once the video loaded. Viola appeared on screen again, her stomach was flat in this one, so she either wasn't pregnant or wasn't showing.<br/>"Hey JD. You've been gone for a week and I already miss you. You can't even imagine how worried I am. Do you remember when we first met? I said Ally thought I was good and you wanted to hear me sing and I told you it would never happen. Well, I've decided to make a video of me singing all my favorite songs. I'm going to send you this in the mail as sort of a reminder slash please come home gift. Alright, the first one is Fluorescent Adolescent, since that's the first one you 'taught' me. Okay let me pull up the instrumental on my phone. Unlike some people, I can't play guitar. Here we go.<br/>"You used to get it in your fishnets. Now you only get it in your night dress…” she continued singing the first song we’d bonded over and Audrey and I both watched with rapt attention.<br/>"Wow, that took a lot. Sorry I can't do that last part there's just too many background singers that make it hard to do it cohesively. Alright, next up is Paramore. I never told you this but after that first night when you almost kissed me, I found myself singing this song in the shower. Here it goes.<br/>"When I was younger I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind. He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it. And my mama swore…” she sang and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her singing that song because of me.<br/>"Whew, okay. Continuing. Now you and I both know that I am not a country fan, despite where I come from. However, this Carrie Underwood song won't stop playing in my head and I hate it, so I'm gonna sing it now to see if that’ll get rid of it. Alright, ready?<br/>"It was two weeks after the day she turned 18. All dressed in white. Going to the church that night. She had his box of letters in her passenger seat…” I could see pain in her eyes as she sang and knew she’d connected to that song, despite the religious aspect. Me not coming home. Turned out that I should’ve been the one scared of that...<br/>"That one was harder but I'm glad I got it out. Hold on. Give me a minute. Okay. The next one is the one that Ally heard me singing.<br/>"You Belong With Me…” It wasn’t hard to guess why she’d been singing that. After all, I’d interrupted her lifetime love of the Boy Next Door. Still, I focused more on how beautiful her voice was than the actual content of the song.<br/>"Sorry. Ally just said I sang that one well so I thought you should hear it. I think I'll sing one more that really wraps up how I feel. I don't know if you've heard it before but the title is 'I Love You' so it pretty much speaks for itself. Alright.<br/>"I like your smile. I like your vibe. I like your style. But that's not why I love you. And I, I like the way you're such a star. But that's not why I love you…” I actually did recognize that Avril Lavigne song and my heart clenched every time I heard her say I love you. It’d been so fucking long.<br/>"Yeah, Babe, my voice is starting to crack so that was the last one. This should get to you soon. If it doesn't it's because something happened to make me forget. I love you and miss you so please come home safe. Bye," Viola cut off the video and, therefore, her voice and image.<br/>"Wow," Audrey breathed.<br/>"I couldn't have said it better myself," I agreed.<br/>"I wonder why it didn’t get to you?" she questioned and I paused, chuckling when I realized.<br/>"Um, probably you, kiddo. She said it was something that would make her forget and finding out she was pregnant would probably do the trick," I answered.<br/>"She really, really loved you," Audrey commented and crouched down next to her to see her expression. It was oddly mature.<br/>"Yeah. She did. And I loved her more than she knew. I still do," I added on. She'd been gone for a decade and I never once stopped loving her.<br/>"You can play the guitar?" she asked, craning her neck to see me.<br/>"I could back then. I probably wouldn't be any good now," I admitted with a shrug. It had been about ten years since I'd even touched my guitar. The reason for that was sad but true.<br/>"Can we watch another one?" she asked, practically bouncing up and down in the chair.<br/>"No. You need to go do your homework in your room. It's not time for you to watch any more yet.<br/>"What about you?" she asked, standing up with her hands on her hips.<br/>"I've got a ten year anniversary video to watch," I told her, trying not to sound smug. I was actually really curious as to what would be on a special occasion disc, though I worried about what watching all of these would do to me.<br/>"No fair!" she whined, stamping her foot.<br/>"It is, too. You have two birthdays, a graduation, and a wedding to watch. You just have to be patient. Now go do your homework," I ordered. She scowled for one moment more before grudgingly leaving.<br/>I took my laptop and the DVDs into my room and shut the door. I sat on the bed and rested my laptop on my lap, sticking in the anniversary one. The screen blinked to life and showed Viola in this very room, wearing a green, silk robe to cover her slim figure.<br/>"Hey, JD. This is the first video I've done since you've been home and I was thinking of something to do since we're engaged now. I finally landed on an idea. I'm going to save this video and then, on our tenth anniversary, I'm going to give it to you.<br/>"You see, in ten years, I probably won't look as good as I do now. And I don't care if you say I'm still beautiful, I will have passed my prime and that's what this video is for. I'm going to record myself in my physical prime for us to have forever. Okay then," she breathed nervously before moving back until I could see her full form.<br/>I could see her pale cheeks were flushed crimson but she was confident in her movements and she deliberately pulled the strings of her robe until they fell away, parting it slightly. In a slow motion she rolled the rest of the robe off her shoulders until it dropped to the floor behind her.<br/>I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My amazingly gorgeous wife, who's currently ten years deceased, was performing a strip tease.<br/>She wore a matching lingerie set, infused with black and green patterns, that highlighted every curve of her petite body. She did a slow spin, pivoting to allow view to every angle as she thread her hands through her hair, shaking it out.<br/>With her back to me, she reached behind her to grasp the clasp of her bra and unhook it, starting to roll the straps down her shoulders and off her arms.<br/>"V?" my voice called from the video and I watched as Viola's head whipped towards the door, quickly adjusting her clothes before making a mad dash for the bathroom.<br/>Suddenly I was in the room, looking a lot better than I did now.<br/>"V? Are you in here?" the younger me asked, knocking on the bathroom door.<br/>"Um, yeah," Viola responded evenly, "I'm just freshening up. I'll be out in a minute."<br/>"Oh, okay. I just wanted to let you know I was home and that I put Aud down," I called through the door.<br/>"Thanks. So do you want to make dinner tonight?" she inquired through the door and, looking back now, I should have noticed the edge in her voice. But younger me just continued like it was a normal conversation.<br/>"Sure. What do you want?" I asked.<br/>"Surprise me," she responded quickly. I watched myself shrug before walking out of the room. As soon as Viola heard the door shut, she came out of the bathroom, heading straight for the camera with a huge smile.<br/>"Okay, JD, you just interrupted me filming myself half naked," she said in a hushed tone, amusement still in her voice. "If you were wondering, I was about to completely strip. However, since there's a good chance you'll catch me now, I'm not going to continue. I would say that I was going to reshoot it but I think it will be funny to see you realize that you just interrupted me stripping for you on camera in the best shape of my life. I honestly think ten years will be worth the wait to see your expression," she laughed and I laughed a sad laugh with her. It really would've been great if she were here to see it. "I swear I love you, teasing is just part of the fun. Happy Anniversary, Babe," she finished before clicking the button to turn the camera off.<br/>"Happy anniversary," I murmured, putting the DVD back in it's envelope and closing my laptop.</p>
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